The final Wednesday afternoon home game on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers schedule was a memorable one for two of their newest players in a 5-3 win over the Lake County Captains. Brady Ebel, the first round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025 playing his second game with Wisconsin, knocked in the tying run with his first hit as a Rattler. Sawyer Strosnider, Milwaukee’s second round pick in the 2026 draft, had a pair of RBI, including a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning. The home run was his first as a professional and is going viral with an incredible family connection.
The Captains (60-52 overall, 23-25 second half) broke in front with two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Josh Knoth, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, walked the lead-off batter on four pitches. Chandler Welch relieved Knoth and gave up a single to Jefferey Mercedes and a bunt single to Tyler Howard to load the bases. Welch issued a one-out walk to Garrett Howe to force in the first run of the game. Tommy Hawke made it 2-0 with a two-out single to left.
The Rattlers responded in the bottom of the sixth. Juan Baez drew a walk with two outs and Luiyin Alastre on first to extend the inning. Blayberg Diaz singled to left to score Alastre. Ebel tied the game with a single to left to score Baez. Ebel made his Timber Rattlers debut on Tuesday with four walks in four plate appearances.
Strosnider and Eric Bitonti crushed back-to-back home runs to start the bottom of the seventh. The fifth time Wisconsin has hit back-to-back homers. Strosnider, who joined the Rattlers last week for the series at Cedar Rapids, drove a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center for his first professional home run.
The personal connection on the home run for Strosnider? It was caught by his father, Scott Strosnider.
Then, Bitonti hit a titanic blast over the home run porch in right field on 2-0 pitch. Bitonti’s bomb was historic. It was his twentieth home run of the season and allowed him to be the second Timber Rattler to reach twenty homers and twenty stolen bases in a season.
Lake County loaded the bases against Bjorn Johnson with no outs in the top of the eighth. Johnson got Victor Izturis to send a grounder to short. Ebel tossed to Daniel Dickinson for the force play. Dickinson had no play at first but threw behind the runner rounding third base for the second out of the inning. A run scored but the rally was stopped in its tracks with Johnson getting the final out on a flyout to left.
Dickinson started a rally for an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a single and two stolen bases to get to third base with no outs. Strosnider doubled down the first base line to score Dickinson for a 5-3 lead.
José Meneses pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth for his first save as a Rattler.
Game three of the series is Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field. Ethan Dorchies (5-8, 5.03) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Harrison Bodendorf (0-2, 6.20) has been named the starter for the Captains. Game time is 6:40pm.
