The wait was worth it for the Green Bay Blizzard as they beat the Massachusetts Pirates 47-35 Sunday afternoon.

 

The Blizzard used a 16-6 advantage in the first quarter to hold on for the win. Max Meylor led the way, throwing for 155 yards and four touchdowns on 16 completions. He also rushed for 47 yards and two scores on the ground. Lowell Patron paced the Blizzard's wide receiving corps with six catches for 81 yards and two scores.

 

The Blizzard will pay a visit to Tulsa for their next game on May 3rd at 7:05 p.m.

Kaelen Culpepper homered and drove in five runs for the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  His performance led the Kernels to an 8-1 lead over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the final game of the six-game series.

Danny DeAndrade gave the Kernels (12-8) the lead with a one-out, solo homer in the bottom of the second inning.  That was the only run allowed by Wisconsin starting pitcher Manuel Rodriguez.

 

Wisconsin (8-13) tied the game in the fifth inning.  Hebert Pérez drew a lead-off walk and stole second.  Jheremy Vargas blooped a one-out single to center to put runners at the corners.  Daniel Guilarte got Pérez home with a sacrifice fly to center.

 

Cedar Rapids started the bottom of the fifth with a walk from reliever Dikember Sanchez.  It looked like it wouldn’t be a problem as Sanchez got Jamie Ferrer to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.  Kevin Maitan was next, and he hit a rocket up the middle.  Shortstop Jadher Areinamo made a dive for the ball and had it in his glove but couldn't hold on for what would have been a spectacular play.  Sanchez would walk the Kyle Hess, the number nine batter in the Kernels order, to set the stage for Culpepper.

The #1 pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2024 draft hit a long home run, his first of the season, to left to give the Kernels a 4-1 lead.

The Kernels added an insurance run in the seventh inning as they loaded the bases with one out against Zach Peek.  Kyle DeBarge hit a grounder off Peek’s leg.  Peek tracked down the ball and got the out at first for the second out as the run scored for Cedar Rapids.

A three-run eighth inning by Cedar Rapids put the game away for them.  Jesús Broca, Wisconsin’s fourth pitcher of the game, gave up a single and a walk to the first two batters he faced.  A double steal put both runners in scoring position.  Khadim Diaw drove in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.  Broca gave up a single and a walk to the next two batters before getting a strikeout on his 34^th pitch of the inning. 

Aaron Rund was tasked with trying to get the final out of the inning in relief of Broca.  However, Culpepper lined a single to right to plate two more runs for the Kernels.

Blake Burke went 2-for-4 for half of Wisconsin’s hits in the game.  Wisconsin pitchers walked seven.

The Rattlers missed on the chance to win their first series of the season.  They had won three in a row after dropping the first two games of the six-game set with Cedar Rapids.  Wisconsin had to settle for their second series split of the year.

 

The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday.  They return to action on Tuesday at Neuroscience Group Field with game one of a six-game series against the West Michigan Whitecaps.  Ryan Birchard (0-2, 3.55) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin.  The Whitecaps have named Max Alba (0-1, 4.85) as their probable starter.  Game time is 6:40pm.

The Green Bay Packers added depth pieces on both sides of the ball on Saturday, completing the 2025 NFL Draft with eight new players and more than 600,000 visiting Lambeau Field over the weekend.

 

The Packers addressed the defense for the first time with their first pick on Saturday, selecting Texas defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell in the fourth round at No. 124 overall. According to Packers.com, he started at defensive end the last three seasons for the Longhorns, totaling 15½ sacks and 29 QB hits over 43 games. He was one of the final players to walk out of the tunnel in front of the draft theater in the Lambeau Field parking lot after arriving at the draft on Wednesday.

 

The Packers stuck with the defensive line with its second pick of the day, selecting Oklahoma State's Collins Oliver in the fifth round at No. 159 overall. A former All-Big 12 selection, he is coming off a foot injury that kept to him to just two games last season. 

 

The Packers stayed with the defensive line, but went inside with the with the selection of Georgia's Warren Brinson in the sixth round at No. 198 overall. He played on Georgia's last national championship team as a part-time starter.

 

The Packers switched to a different defensive position with its Tulane cornerback Micah Robinson with the first of two seventh-round picks at No. 237 overall. After a decorated career at Furman, Robinson recorded 33 tackles and intercepted two passes, returning one for a TD in his lone season with the Green Wave. 

 

Finally, the Packers went back to the offensive line with their final pick of the weekend, taking Cincinnati lineman John Williams with their eighth and final pick at No. 250 overall. He allowed just three sacks in more than 800 offensive snaps for the Bearcats as one of its starters over the past two years. 

Hedbert Pérez broke a 2-2 tie with a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning to push the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in front of the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  Wisconsin would go on to a 4-2 victory.

 

The Timber Rattlers (8-12) were gifted a run in the top of the second inning.  Pérez singled with one out and was still at first with two outs.  Jheremy Vargas hit a high popup to the left side of the infield that third baseman Billy Amick dropped for an error to allow the inning to continue with runners at the corners for Yhoswar Garcia.  Kernels starting pitcher Tanner Hall got to a 2-2 count on Garcia when he tried to pick Vargas off first base.  The throw was wild and that allowed Pérez to score.

The Kernels (11-8) had a runner at first after a lead-off, infield single by Nate Baez in the bottom of the third.  Wisconsin starter Tyson Hardin struck out the next two batters but struggled to find the third.  Kyle Hess, the number nine batter in the Cedar Rapids lineup, singled to right to get Baez to third.  Kaelen Culpepper singled up the middle to score the tying run.  Kyle DeBarge followed with a single to score Hess with the go-ahead run.  Hardin gave up a walk to load the bases before getting a strikeout to end the frame.

Wisconsin evened the score in the sixth inning against reliever Spencer Bengard.  Pérez, who homered against Bengard on Tuesday night in the series opener, drew a four-pitch walk with one out.  Tayden Hall laced a double to left-center to score Pérez with the tying run.

The bottom of the seventh had some nervous moments for the Rattlers and reliever Patricio Aquino.  Brandon Winokur started the inning with a deep drive to the wall in left that Jheremy Vargas caught.  Then, Aquino hit three of the next four Cedar Rapids batters to load the bases with two outs. Aquino escaped the inning on a force play at second base.
 

Pérez came back to the plate with one out in the top of the eighth and unloaded on the first pitch of this at bat against Bengard to hit a no-doubt home run to right.  The homer was the third of the season for Pérez.

In the bottom of the eighth, Aquino gave up a lead-off single to Hess, who went 4-for-4 on the afternoon.  Aquino was not rattled as he got Culpepper to ground into a 6-4-3 double play and DeBarge to flyout to left.

The Rattlers added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning on a few more Cedar Rapids miscues.  Garcia reached on a grounder behind third that was ruled an error to start the frame against Logan Whitaker.  Garcia took off early with Daniel Guilarte at the plate and Whitaker still in his set.  Whitaker stepped off the rubber and ran at Garcia, who had frozen halfway between first and second.  Garcia broke for second again after a moment and Whitaker’s throw sailed into center to allow Garcia to eventually wind up at third base.  Then, Whitaker threw a wild pitch to let Garcia score for a 4-2 lead.

Yerlin Rodriguez, who gave up a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in game one of the series on Tuesday night to be charged with a blown save and the loss against the Kernels, entered the game for the bottom of the ninth.  Rodriguez made the most of his second opportunity with a perfect ninth by striking out the first two batters on six pitches and getting the final out on a grounder to short.

Pérez was 2-for-3 and scored three runs while Blake Burke went 3-for-4 in the game for the Rattlers. 

Wisconsin is on their first three-game winning streak of the season.

The series finale is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  The starting pitching match-up is a rematch of game one of the series with Manuel Rodriguez (0-1, 1.71) for the Timber Rattlers facing Joe Olivares (0-0, 0.00) for the Kernels.  Game time is 1:05pm CDT. 

The Green Bay Packers continued to address the offense on Friday night, drafting WR Savion Williams from TCU.

 

Williams is a two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection from 2023 and 2024. Last season, he started 12 games and scored six touchdowns through the air and ran another six on the ground, according to NFL.com. 

 

He is the second wide receiver selected by the Packers in this draft, joining first round draft choice Matthew Golden of Texas. 

Four Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitchers – Bishop Letson, Bayden Root, Dikember Sanchez, and Aaron Rund – held the Cedar Rapids Kernels to four hits in a shutout for a 1-0 win at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday night.  Letson tossed 5-1/3 scoreless innings and earned his first Midwest League victory as the Rattlers held on to the late lead.

 

The starting pitchers dueled through five innings.  Alejandro Hidalgo pitched five scoreless innings, walked four, and struck out seven while allowing one hit.  Letson matched Hidalgo with five scoreless innings.

 

Wisconsin (7-12) had the breakthrough in the top of the sixth against reliever Jacob Wosinski.  Jadher Areinamo singled, Blake Burke walked, and Matt Wood singled to load the bases.  Juan Baez grounded a ball up the middle that was turned into a 4-3 double play but allowed Areinamo to score for the 1-0 lead.

Letson went back out for the bottom of the sixth and allowed a one-out, infield single to Brandon Winokur before exiting the game.  Letson allowed four hits, walked none, and struck out four over his 5-1/3 innings.

Bayden Root relieved Letson and Winokur promptly stole second base.  Root got the second out of the inning when Baez made a tough pick on a hard one-hopper off the bat of Billy Amick for the out at first.  The final out was on a routine grounder to second.  Root would give up a deep fly to Danny DeAndrade in the seventh but would pitch a perfect inning.

Dikember Sanchez was next up out of the Wisconsin bullpen. He set down the first two batters he faced in the eighth, but a walk to Misael Urbina extended the inning to Winokur, who grounded into an inning-ending force play.

In the bottom of the ninth, Sanchez retired the first two batters he faced again but walked DeAndrade on a 3-2 pitch.  The call went to the Wisconsin bullpen one more time.

Aaron Rund answered the call and got Nate Baez to ground a ball to third that was misplayed by Baez for an error to put the tying and winning runs on base with veteran Kevin Maitan to the plate.

Cedar Rapids (11-7) had rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 4-2 victory on Tuesday night against the Rattlers.  Maitan started the game-winning rally on Tuesday with a one-out double.  On Friday, he had a chance to win the game for the Kernels.

The degree of difficulty increased for Rund and the Rattlers as DeAndrade and pinch-runner Kyle Hess pulled a double steal to get both runners into scoring position.  Rund was unfazed, even after a close 1-2 pitch to Maitan was called a ball.  The right-handed reliever got Maitan to chase the next pitch for strike three to end the game with his first save of the season.

Areinamo and Wood each had two singles to account for all four of Wisconsin’s hits in the game.
 

The Rattlers have won two straight games to even up the series with the Kernels through four games.

 

Game five of the series is Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  Tyson Hardin (2-0, 0.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers.  Cedar Rapids has named Tanner Hall (1-0, 6.23) as their starter.  Game time is 1:05pm CDT.

The Green Bay Packers invested a second-round pick in protecting Jordan Love on Friday night, selecting North Carolina State OT Anthony Belton.

 

A third-team All-ACC selection in 2023, Belton brings size to the line at 6'6" and more than 330 pounds. According to the Packers, Belton never gave up more than four sacks a season in his collegiate career, despite averaging more than 400 pass blocking downs a season. 

 

Barring a trade, the Packers will make their next selection in the third round where they hold the 23rd pick (87th overall).

A capacity crowd got to see the Green Bay Packers make history Thursday night in the NFL Draft as they selected Texas WR Matthew Golden with the 23rd overall pick.

 

According to the Packers, Golden (5-11, 191) caught 58 passes for 987 yards and nine TDs last season at Texas after transferring from Houston. Golden is expected to add a dose of speed to the wide receivers room after Christian Watson went down with a season-ending injury last season. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash among wide receivers at last month's scouting combine at 4.29 seconds. 

 

Packers fans were jubilant when Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy, who made sure to note that Golden was the first wide receiver picked in the first round by the organization since Javon Walker was selected 23 years ago. Golden played into the excitement of the fans, waving his hands in the air as he walked onto the stage and later walking to an auxiliary stage in the middle of the crowd to shake hands with the thousands of Packers fans in attendance. During his media availability afterwards, Golden described the type of player fans can expect him to be and the joy they brought to him when he was selected.

 

 

An estimated 205,000 took in the first day of the NFL Draft, which is just under twice the population of Green Bay. The draft footprint had to stop admitting general admission attendees about 30 minutes before the first selection because of capacity limits. Many fans were directed into the seating bowl to watch the draft on the videoboards inside Lambeau FIeld.

 

 

Audio courtesy of the NFL

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers offense came to life on Thursday night to defeat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 13-5 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  Wisconsin broke a 4-4 tie with two runs in the eighth and tacked on seven in the ninth to earn their first win of the series against the Kernels.

 

The Kernels (11-6) loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second inning.  Nate Baez drove in two runs with a single for the early lead.  Chandler Welch, the Wisconsin starter got the next batter to ground into a 5-3 double play.  However, an infield single by Caden Kendle extended the inning.  Kaelen Culpepper followed with an RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

Wisconsin (6-12) stormed back with a rally on four straight hits with one out in the third.  Eduardo Garcia, Jadher Areinamo, and Blake Burke had consecutive singles to load the bases.  Matt Wood unloaded the bases with a line drive homer to right for a grand slam and a 4-3 lead.  The slam was the second of the season by a Timber Rattler.

Cedar Rapids tied the game in the bottom of the third as Danny De Andrade singled home Billy Amick.  The Kernels had two on with one out after that game-tying hit by De Andrade.  However, Welch retired the next two batters to deny the Kernels the lead.

Welch also worked a perfect fourth and pitched around a lead-off single in the fifth to keep the score tied.
 

The Rattlers had a chance to go in front in the top of the seventh against Kernels reliever Sam Perez, who walked Garcia and Areinamo on eight straight pitches with one out in the seventh.  Perez got the second out with a strikeout and Wood was robbed of a run-scoring hit on a fine, back-handed pick by Nate Baez at first base.

Zach Peek, the first Rattler out of the bullpen, kept the game tied with three strikeouts over two perfect innings to send the game to the eighth inning still tied 4-4.

Juan Baez opened the Wisconsin eighth with a single against Gabriel Yanez.  He was still at first with two outs.  Daniel Guilarte coaxed a walk from Yanez to keep the inning alive.  Then, Yhoswar Garcia singled to left to drive in Baez with the go-ahead run.  Eduardo Garcia followed with a single to score Guilarte for a 6-4 lead.
 

The Kernels made Rattlers reliever Jeferson Figueroa work to keep that two-run cushion.  Figueroa retired the first two batters of the eighth before DeAndrade doubled.  Then, Nate Baez worked a deep count by fouling off five straight 2-2 pitches.  Figueroa missed with the next pitch to run the count full.  Baez fouled off two more pitches before flying out to right on the thirteenth pitch of the at bat.

Wisconsin blew the game open in the ninth inning as they sent thirteen batters to the plate and scored seven runs.  Burke started the frame with a long, loud double to deep center.  Juan Baez was hit by a pitch with one out.  Hedbert Perez cashed in both pinch-runner Jheremy Vargas and Baez with a triple.  Perez would score moments later on a balk by Juan Mendez to make it 9-4.

The next three batters reached to reload the bases and knock Mendez out of the game.  Juan Mercedes entered from the Kernels bullpen and got the second out with a strikeout.  Then, he walked Areinamo to force in a run.  Vargas, batting in Burke’s spot in the order, drove in two runs with a single.  A walk to Wood reloaded the bases and another walk to Baez forced in the final run of the frame for a 13-4 lead

Jesus Broca made his Timber Rattlers debut as he came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth to close out the game.  Broca got the first out, but an error, a single, and a walk loaded the bases for Cedar Rapids.  Broca walked Amick to force in a run.  However, he did not let the inning get out of hand.  Broca got Gabriel Gonzalez to ground into the game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Wisconsin had scored thirteen runs in their last five games before their outburst on Thursday night.

Both Garcias, Burke, Areinamo, and Perez had two hits in the game as the Rattlers set a single-game high for hits in a game this season with fourteen.

 

Game four of the series is Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  Bishop Letson (0-0, 2.45) is set to start for the Timber Rattlers.  Cedar Rapids has named Alejandro Hidalgo (0-0, 6.55) as their starting pitcher.  Game time is 6:35pm.

All eyes will be on Lambeau Field on Thursday night when the 2025 NFL Draft begins.

 

Whether you plan on heading to Green Bay or staying on your couch at home, here are some of the details from the NFL you need to keep track of the festivities. NEW Radio Sports Network will have coverage of the draft from from the Titletown footprint Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

 

SCHEDULE

7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET), Thursday, April 24 (Round 1).

6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET), Friday, April 25 (Rounds 2-3).

11 a.m. CT (noon ET), Saturday, April 26 (Rounds 4-7).

 

The first round will conclude on Thursday by approximately 10:30 p.m. CT (11:30 p.m. ET). In 2024, the first round consumed three hours and 36 minutes. The second and third rounds will conclude on Friday by approximately 10 p.m. CT (11 p.m. ET). The second and third rounds took a combined four hours and nine minutes in 2024. The draft will conclude by approximately 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) on Saturday with the final four rounds. Rounds four through seven took seven hours and six minutes in 2024.

 

ROUNDS:

Seven Rounds – Round 1 on Thursday, April 24; Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday, April 25; and Rounds 4 through 7 on Saturday, April 26.

There will be 257 selections, including 35 compensatory choices that have been awarded to 16 teams.

TIME LIMITS:

Round 1: 10 minutes per selection. Round 2: Seven minutes per selection. Rounds 3 through 6, including compensatory picks: Five minutes per selection. Round 7, including compensatory picks: Four minutes per selection.

 

TELEVISION & RADIO:

The 2025 NFL Draft will be televised nationally by NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, and can be heard nationwide on Westwood One Radio, SiriusXM NFL Radio and ESPN Radio.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers trailed 3-0 before they got their offense going on Wednesday night against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  The visitors scraped single runs across the plate in the seventh and ninth innings, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 3-2 to Cedar Rapids.

Wisconsin (5-12) had the first hit of the game on a one-out single by Juan Baez in the second inning, but he was erased on a double play to end the inning.  Cedar Rapids pitchers Ty Langenberg and Logan Whitaker combined to face the minimum through six innings as they kept the Rattlers off the scoreboard.

 

The Kernels (11-5) broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Khadim Diaw drew a walk and stole second to start the inning.  A one-out wild pitch by Ryan Birchard allowed Diaw to take third.  A wild throw by catcher David Garcia on the play let Diaw score for the 1-0 lead.

Birchard went five innings, allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five as the Rattlers starting pitcher.

Cedar Rapids added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth against reliever Anthony Flores.  The Kernels loaded the bases on a leadoff single with another single and a walk coming after one out.  Flores got the second out on a strikeout.  Then, Danny De Andrade doubled to right to score two runs for a 3-0 lead.

A rain delay halted play for 88 minutes after the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Timber Rattlers (5-12) were ready on the restart as Eduardo Garcia walked and Jadher Areinamo doubled to open the seventh against reliever Wilker Reyes.  Matt Wood drove in Garcia with a grounder to second.

In the top of the ninth, Garcia reached on an infield single, stole second, and moved to third on a wild pitch by Jacob Wosinski.  Areinamo cut the deficit to one run with a grounder to second.  Unfortunately, that was also the second out of the inning.  Wosinski ended the ninth and the game with a strikeout.

Wednesday’s game was the eighth time in seventeen games this season in which Wisconsin has scored two or fewer runs this season.  They are 1-7 when that happens.

 

Game three of the series is set for Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  Chandler Welch (0-1, 4.50) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers.  Chase Cheney will make his 2025 Midwest League debut as the starter for the Kernels.  Game time is 6:35pm.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers were one out away from a win in game one of their series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Tuesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  However, Kyle DeBarge spoiled the night for the Rattlers with a three-run, walkoff homer to erase a 2-1 lead for the Rattlers and sent the Kernels to the 4-2 victory.

 

The Kernels (10-5) took the lead in the bottom of the first inning.  DeBarge tripled with one out against Wisconsin starting pitcher Manuel Rodriguez.  The Rattler right-hander got the second out of the inning on a strikeout.  However, Billy Amick had a sharp single to center to knock in DeBarge from third for the 1-0 lead.

Cedar Rapids had a Khadim Diaw at second with one out in the bottom of the third when Kevin Maitan hit a ball to the hole at short.  Jadher Areinamo made a diving attempt to keep the ball from getting into left and got just enough of it to keep Diaw from scoring.  Rodriguez got out of the jam with runners at the corners and one out with a strikeout and a force play at second.

Wisconsin (5-11) took the lead in the fifth inning.  Matt Wood had a lead-off single.  Perez hit a high fly to left that just cleared the yellow line for a two-run homer.  The homer was the second of the season for Perez.

Rodriguez gave up five hits in the first two innings, but only one after that.  The 19-year-old righty walked one, struck out three, and pitched a scoreless fifth to turn the 2-1 lead over to the bullpen.

Aaron Rund was up first as the Wisconsin reliever. He hit two of the first three Kernels he faced in the sixth but escaped unscathed with the lead intact thanks to an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Patricio Aquino pitched the seventh and eighth for the Rattlers.  He allowed a two-out single in the seventh and a lead-off single in the eighth while maintaining the lead.

Yerlin Rodriguez got the ninth inning against the bottom third of the Cedar Rapids order and opened the inning with a strikeout.  Kevin Maitan was next, and he lined a double to left.  Rodriguez got the second out on another strikeout.

That brought Kaelen Culpepper to the plate.  Rodriguez got Culpepper to swing and miss at a 2-1 pitch to leave Wisconsin one strike away.  However, Culpepper did not offer at to close pitches that missed away to draw the walk and bring DeBarge to the plate.

DeBarge was 2-for-4 going into this at bat in the ninth with a fifth inning double to go along with his first inning triple.  Rodriguez missed with the first two pitches.  Then, DeBarge missed the next offering.  He did not miss the 2-1 pitch as he lined a no-doubt home run to left to touch off the celebration at home plate after the walkoff, three-run homer to beat Wisconsin.

 

Game two of the series is Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  The Timber Rattlers have announced Ryan Birchard (0-1, 4.70) as their starting pitcher.  He will be opposed by Ty Langenberg (0-1, 7.50) for the Kernels.  Game time is 6:35pm.

The NFL Draft will have a very Wisconsin feel for those in attendance at Lambeau Field beginning on Tuesday.

 

The NFL announced some of its presenters during the three-day event. On Thursday night, Green Bay Packers Legends Mason Crosby, Ahman Green, James Jones, Clay Matthews and Jordy Nelson will be on-site to help Commissioner Roger Goodell to officially open the 2025 NFL Draft.

 

Among the NFL Legends scheduled to be on-site, four have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Jerry Kramer (Green Bay Packers, Class of 2018), Dave Robinson (Green Bay Packers, Class of 2013), and Wisconsin alum Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns, Class of 2023). 

 

Thirteen day-two announcers attended the University of Wisconsin, including the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, Lee Evans (representing the Buffalo Bills), as well as four of the school’s top six all-time leading rushers – Taylor (Indianapolis Colts), Montee Ball (Denver Broncos), Melvin Gordon (Los Angeles Chargers) and James White (New England Patriots).

Seven of the presenters were born in the state of Wisconsin, including Travis Frederick (Sharon), Melvin Gordon (Kenosha), Alec Ingold (Green Bay), Tim Krumrie (Menomonie), Ryan Ramczyk (Stevens Point), Thomas (Brookfield) and Stu Voigt (Madison).

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers needed something Saturday afternoon to salvage the final game of a six-game series with the Lansing Lugnuts.

 

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers fell just short in their comeback against the Lansing Lugnuts for the conclusion of Friday night’s suspended game.  The Rattlers had a run in and the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the seventh on Saturday afternoon, but the red hot Lugnuts escaped for a 4-3 victory.

 

The action on Friday night started when Wisconsin (4-10) scored twice in the bottom of the second inning.  Jheremy Vargas doubled, tagged on a fly to the corner in left to take third base, and scored on a wild pitch.  Tayden Hall kept the inning going with a two-out walk and a steal of second.  Then, Blake Burke ripped a single to right to score Hall for the 2-0 lead.

The rain started to come down harder in the top of the fourth inning with Rattlers starting pitcher Chandler Welch on the mound.  He walked Nate Nankil on four straight pitches to open the inning for Lansing (9-5).  Then, Darlyn Montero hit a two-run homer to the Rattlers bullpen to tie the game.

 

Jonny Butler followed with a high fly down the line in left that Vargas had trouble picking up in the conditions.  The ball dropped just fair, and Butler made it all the way to third.  He would score the go-ahead run on Casey Yamauchi’s sacrifice fly.

The Timber Rattlers went down in order in the bottom of the fourth.  Wisconsin’s grounds crew did a lot of work between innings to try to keep the field playable and Welch went back out in the top of the fifth inning and got the first out.  Then, the umpires called for the tarp to halt play until Saturday afternoon.

Bishop Letson came on in relief for Wisconsin to restart the game and got the final two outs in the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth.  Lansing reliever Blaze Pontes also worked two scoreless innings to keep the score at 3-2 heading to the seventh inning.

Letson got the first out of top of the seventh.  Then, Sahid Valenzuela singled to center and advanced to second on a bobble by Eduardo Garcia.  Letson got the second out and worked the count to 2-2 against Tommy White.  Then, White singled to score the insurance run for Lansing.

Mark Adamiak entered the game for the Lugnuts to pitch the bottom of the seventh and promptly walked Vargas and David Garcia.  Matt Wood was called on to pinch-hit for the Rattlers and he drove a single to left to score Vargas.  Adamiak bounced back to strikeout Hall for the first out.  Then, Burke grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.

 

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers needed something Saturday afternoon to salvage the final game of a six-game series with the Lansing Lugnuts.  That something was 5-2/3 innings of shutout pitching from Tyson Hardin that propelled the Rattlers to a 2-0 victory.  Hardin struck out seven to earn his second win of the season and to help the Rattlers end a five-game losing streak.

 

Hardin did need a little help from his defense to shutout the Lugnuts.  Lansing (9-6) nearly took the lead in the top of the third.  Tommy White doubled with two outs.  Then, TJ Schofield-Sam singled to left.  White tried to score, but Jheremy Vargas’s throw to the plate was in time to keep the game scoreless.

 

Blake Burke started the rally for the Rattlers in the bottom of the fourth with a double.  Jadher Areinamo extended his hitting streak to ten games with a single to put runners on the corners.  Eduardo Garcia drove in Burke with a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead.

Wisconsin (5-10) added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth.  Hedbert Pérez doubled and advanced to third on a wild pickoff throw to second.  Yhoswar Garcia delivered the run with a double to center for the 2-0 advantage.

Hardin was in control after the single by Schofield-Sam in the third inning.  He retired eight batters in a row – five of them via the strikeout – until he walked Schofield-Sam with two out in the top of the sixth.  Hardin set new professional single-game highs for innings pitched and strikeouts.  The only walk he allowed was on his last hitter of the game after his only full count of the game.

Zach Peek was called in to close out the game for the Rattlers and he got the final four outs for his first save as a Rattler.

The Rattlers are 3-0 in Hardin’s three starts this season.  He has not allowed a run while striking out sixteen over 14-2/3 innings.
 

The Timber Rattlers are off on Sunday and Monday.  They return to action on Tuesday with the first game of a six-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Game time is 6:35pm.

 

Members of the two-legged and four-legged variety have been added in recent weeks to the Green Bay Rockers roster.

 

To kickoff last week, the Rockers added four pitchers to the team with the signings RHP Maddox Long (Harding University), LHP Heitaro Hayashi (Wagner College), LHP Jayden Martin (Wallace-Hanceville CC), and LHP Simon Aluko (Shorter University).

 

On Friday, the Rockers added two more pitchers and an infielder, signing Columbia University's Tomas Lopez (RHP), Eric Jeon (IF), and Barry University product Aiden Ewe (RHP).

 

In between, the Rockers announced they would have three different bat dogs dotting the schedule to assist in their bat retrieval efforts. The organization announced that Cooper (Misfit Hills Pet Services) will share bat dog duties with Scout and Wally (Practical Obedience LLC) to cover 20 of the team’s 36 home games this summer.

The portal has been fruitful for the Green Bay Phoenix women's basketball team as they work to replace its seven seniors.

 

The program announced on Friday its signing of Maddy Skorupski after an All-Horizon League season at Oakland University. In Horizon League games, the 5'8" guard averaged 16.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals per game.

 

Head coach Kayla Karius expressed her joy to signing the high-scoring guard, telling GreenBayPhoenix.com that "we've known her as an opponent, we believe she's a great fit for the Green Bay culture and our program."

The Lansing Lugnuts had a 3-0 lead after back-to-back homers in the fourth inning against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field.  The Timber Rattlers rallied with single runs in the fourth, fifth, and eighth.  However, Lansing took advantage of mistakes in the top of the ninth to score the go-ahead run and held on as the Rattlers loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth to get the outs they needed for a 4-3 win.

Nate Nankil hit a two-run home run in the fourth to put Lansing (7-5) in front.  Nankil has five RBI in the first three games of the series with the Rattlers.  Darlyn Montero was next, and he hit a solo shot to left for a 3-0 advantage.

Wisconsin (4-8) started the comeback in the bottom of the fourth.  Eduardo Garcia launched a home run, his first of the season, with two outs to get the Rattlers on the scoreboard.

In the fifth inning, the Rattlers loaded the bases with two out.  Yhoswar Garcia scored on a wild pitch to pull Wisconsin to within a run.

Jadher Areinamo blasted a lead-off homer to left in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game.

The top of the ninth started with a fly ball to left off the bat of Clark Elliott.  It appeared to be a routine fly heading for Jheremy Vargas.  However, the ball kept carrying with the wind howling out that way and Vargas never got to it.  Elliott raced for third for a triple after the ball hit off the wall.  Pitcher Jeferson Figueroa committed a balk just before he delivered his next pitch to allow the go-ahead run to score.

Wisconsin made the Lugnuts sweat a bit in the bottom of the ninth.  Vargas walked with one out, Yhoswar Garcia reached on an infield single, and Blake Burke walked with two outs to load the bases to bring Areinamo back to the plate.

This time, the Lugnuts won the battle as Areinamo grounded an 0-2 pitch from Mark Adamiak to third base for a game-ending force out.

Areinamo went 2-for-4 for his second consecutive multi-hit game.  He is on a seven-game hitting streak (9-for-28, .321), which is the longest active streak on the team this season.

Friday is a busy day at Neuroscience Group Field with a split doubleheader.  Brandon Woodruff is scheduled to make a rehab appearance as the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers in the day game that is set to start at 1:10pm.  The Lugnuts have Gage Jump (0-1, 9.00) as their starter in the afternoon tilt.

The night game is set to start at 6:40pm with Chandler Welch (0-0, 5.00) as Wisconsin’s starting pitcher against Steven Echavarria (0-1, 4.50) getting the start for Lansing.

 Third Base Ventures, led by Craig Dickman, Rob Zerjav and Brad Raaths, announced today that it has agreed to sell the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), an organization that owns and operates select Minor League Baseball (MiLB) clubs affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). The Timber Rattlers will remain in the Fox Cities as the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The existing front office staff will continue to operate the club under the leadership of Zerjav, who is the team’s President and CEO. As part of the transaction, DBH is also purchasing Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, the team’s home ballpark since it opened in 1995.

 

“It has always been our goal to ensure baseball remains a part of the fabric of Northeastern Wisconsin and we are excited to be joining DBH, who shares our passion for baseball and community,” said Zerjav, who is in his 23rd season leading the club. “Their commitment to preserving what makes the Timber Rattlers special, while helping us grow into the future, made this the right move for the organization and the Fox Cities. 

 

The Timber Rattlers have been a Brewers affiliate since 2009 and have played in the Midwest League since 1962. The team went 77-54 last season and clinched the league’s First-Half Western Division title before advancing to the Midwest League Championship Series.

 

Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium is a fan-favorite destination in Appleton. The venue was named Ballpark Digest’s 2023 Ballpark of the Year after an imaginative renovation project greatly enhanced the stadium experience and drew rave reviews from both fans and players. Last season, the Timber Rattlers marked their fourth consecutive year of rising attendance. Additionally, with strong branding and creative alternate identities, the Timber Rattlers consistently rank among the top performers in merchandise sales across High-A.

 

“On behalf of the Brewers, we’d like to extend our sincere thanks to Craig, Rob and Brad, whose dedication to the Timber Rattlers and Fox Cities community has been invaluable,” said Brewers Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Arnold. “We are thrilled to start a new partnership with DBH, who has an impressive track record for elevating the player and fan experience at the ballpark. The Timber Rattlers have long been a vital part of our player-development system, and we look forward to seeing our future stars continue to grow in such a first-class environment.”

 

Through its roster of affiliated clubs across the country, DBH is on a mission to make lifelong memories for its fans. The organization works to support local passions and priorities with national reach and scale, integrating cutting-edge digital technologies into club operations as well as providing new value-generating opportunities in partnership with MiLB.

 

"As their rising attendance suggests, the Timber Rattlers are a cornerstone of the Fox Cities community and we’re honored to welcome them to our roster,” said Pat Battle and Peter Freund, Executive Chairman and CEO of DBH, respectively. “This is a club with a storied history, strong community roots and a bright future in Appleton under Rob Zerjav’s continued leadership. We’re excited to support him and the team as we kick off our new partnership with the Brewers.”

 

Subject to obtaining the consent of the league and satisfying other standard closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed promptly.

Manuel Rodriguez pitched six scoreless innings and turned a 1-0 lead over to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers bullpen on Wednesday afternoon against the Lansing Lugnuts at Neuroscience Group Field.  However, Rodriguez could only watch as the Lugnuts scored three times in the top of the eighth inning and go on to a 3-1 victory.

 

Wisconsin (4-7) started quickly as Tayden Hall and Blake Burked walked in the bottom of the first.  Jadher Areinamo, the number three batter in the order, singled to drive in Hall for the 1-0 lead.

Rodriguez looked like he would make that advantage hold for the rest of the afternoon.  He allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out four over six scoreless innings.

 

Lansing starter Yunior Tur matched Rodriguez after the first inning.  He walked four and struck out eight to keep the score at 1-0 before he left with two outs in the fifth inning.

The Lugnuts (6-5) threatened in the seventh inning against reliever Zach Peek, who gave up a double and single to the first two batters he faced.  Peek escaped the frame with a popup and a double play.  He was not as fortunate in the top of the eighth.

Rodney Green Jr walked on a 3-2 pitch with one out.  Tommy White followed with a single, his third hit of the game.  Then, Peek hit Cole Conn on a 2-2 pitch to load the bases.

Yerlin Rodriguez took over for Peek to try to maintain the lead.  He got Nate Nankil to a full count, and Nankil hit a slow roller up the third baseline for an infield single to drive in Green with the tying run.  T.J. Schofield-Sam was hit by a 3-1 pitch from Rodriguez to force in the go-ahead run.  Jared Dickey added an RBI single on an 0-2 pitch to plate the final run of the frame for the Lugnuts.

 

Wisconsin tried to rally late.  Areinamo doubled with two outs in the eighth but was left stranded.  In the ninth, Hedbert Pérez singled with one out.  He was still at first with two outs when Jheremy Vargas lifted a hooking fly ball to the left field corner for what looked like extra bases.  It was not to be.  Nankil made a spectacular diving catch on the warning track in fair territory and all Vargas could do was stand between first and second looking on in disbelief.

Areinamo extended his current hitting streak to six games with his two hits on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Game three of the series is scheduled for Thursday evening.  Anthony Flores (0-1, 4.50) has been named as the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers.  Lansing plans to send Kyle Robinson (1-1, 1.29) to the mound.  Game time is 6:40pm.

The Green Bay Gamblers' season ended in the state's capital city on Tuesday, falling 5-3 to the Madison Capitols.

 

The Gamblers found themselves in a 3-0 hole after the first period and they were behind 4-0 before Will Zellers found the back in the net in the closing minutes of the second half. Anthony Cardilli and Egor Shilov scored goals for the Gamblers to get the game to within one with less than seven minutes in the game. The Capitols would put the game and the season away with an empty net goal by Gavin Uhlenkamp. The Gamblers were flustered by goaltender Caleb Heil, who stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced. 

The Lansing Lugnuts scored four times with two outs in the top of the first inning to build an early 4-0 lead against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Tuesday night at Neuroscience Group Field.  Wisconsin got close with two runs, but the Lugnuts added a couple of insurance runs in the seventh for an eventual 6-2 victory in the first game of the series between the teams.

 

Wisconsin starting pitcher Ryan Birchard had runners on first and second with two outs when he walked Jared Dickey on four pitches to load the bases.  Then, a walk to Clark Elliott forced in the first run of the game and the Lugnuts (5-5) were in front.

Birchard got ahead of Casey Yamauchi with two quick strikeouts.  However, Yamauchi drove in a pair of runs with a single up the middle.  The final run of the inning crossed the plate when Birchard balked home a run from third for the four-run cushion.

 

The Lugnuts only put one runner on base against Birchard after the first inning.  He walked CJ Rodriguez with two outs in the fourth before getting his fifth strikeout of the game to end the inning.  Birchard walked three and struck out five in his four innings.

Wisconsin (4-6) got their first base runner, first hit and their first run in the space of three hitters in the bottom of the fourth after Lansing starter Jake Garland had worked three perfect innings.  Tayden Hall started the fourth with a walk.  Jadher Areinamo got Hall to third with a single.  Then, Blake Burke drove in Hall with a sacrifice fly.

Hall and Areinamo combined to get the Rattlers to within two runs in the bottom of the sixth.  Hall tripled to right-center on the first pitch from Garland.  Areinamo drove in Hall with a sacrifice fly.

Lansing went back up by four runs in the top of the seventh.  Rattlers reliever Dikember Sanchez loaded the bases with two walks and a single to the first three batters he faced.  Sanchez almost got out of the inning with a force play at the plate and a strikeout.  It was not to be.  Nate Nankil was able to fight off a 2-2 pitch off the inside corner and the right-hander dropped a soft liner to left for a two-run single to cash in the opportunity for the Lugnuts.

Garland went back out for the seventh inning.  He allowed a lead-off single to Juan Baez and retired the next two batters to end his night.  Garland allowed two runs on three hits with six strikeouts over 6-2/3 innings.  Blake Pontes closed out the game by keeping the Rattlers off the scoreboard over the final 2-1/3 innings.

 

Game two of the series is Wednesday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field.  Manuel Rodriguez (0-1, 2.70) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers.  Lansing has named Yunior Tur (0-0, 2.25) as their starter.  Game time is 12:10pm.

The DCY SWIM team made a powerful splash at the 2025 YMCA National Championship meet in Greensboro, NC, marking our largest Nationals group since before the pandemic! With five incredible athletes representing DCY on the national stage — and six qualifiers overall — our team showed up stronger than ever.

 

Although one of our swimmers was sidelined due to injury just before the trip, Daylia Sund, Julia Michalski, Sue Mann, and Megan Quaderer competed in both individual and relay events, proudly qualifying for the 200 Free and Medley Relays. Both relays came thrillingly close to breaking team records, clocking in as the second-fastest relay times in DCY history!

 

Individual Highlights Include:

· Julia Michalski: 100 Backstroke, 100 Breaststroke

· Daylia Sund: 100 & 200 Breaststroke

· Sue Mann: 50 Freestyle

· Thomas Kratcha: 100 Breaststroke

· Megan Quaderer: Relay team powerhouse

 

Daylia Sund led the charge with a 28th-place finish in the 100 Breaststroke, just shy of the finals — a phenomenal national showing!

 

The team also took advantage of time trial opportunities, where we saw several personal bests:

· Megan Quaderer: 50 Free & 100 Breast

· Sue Mann: 100 Free

· Thomas Kratcha: 100 Free

 

We’re thrilled to announce two new team records set this season:

· Julia Michalski: 200 Free – 1:58.58

· Daylia Sund: 100 Breaststroke – 1:05.45

 

As we celebrate this incredible season, we want to give special recognition to Sue Mann and Julia Michalski, who have wrapped up their careers with DCY SWIM in true champion style. These outstanding athletes now head off to college, leaving behind a legacy of dedication, sportsmanship, and excellence.

 

Congratulations to all of our swimmers — you’ve made DCY proud!

 

For more information on the Door County YMCA Swim Team and upcoming events, visit www.DoorCountyYMCA.org or contact Mike McHugh.

 

Photo: Top - Thomas Kratcha, Bottom - Sue Mann, Megan Quaderer, Daylia Sund and Julia Michalski

The Green Bay Gamblers' new season begins Monday night when they open the Clark Cup Playoffs against the Madison Capitols.

 

The Capitols have had the Gamblers' number this season, winning five of the eight matchups. The Capitols scored at least six goals against the Gamblers in their last three games, including eight goals each game over Valentine's Day weekend. The Gamblers lost their final game against the Capitols on Saturday 6-5.

 

The best-of-three series begins Monday at 7:05 p.m. in Madison. It will stay in Madison for the entire series, playing Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. and at the same time on Wednesday if necessary. 

Jadher Areinamo’s two-run double in the eighth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and propelled the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to a 5-1 victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits Sunday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park.  The win gave the Rattlers a split in their six-game series with their West Division rivals.

Wisconsin (4-5) broke in front in the top of the sixth inning.  David Garcia started the top of the sixth with a single against Quad Cities starting pitcher Logan Martin.  Then, Tayden Hall walked, and the River Bandits (6-3) went to the bullpen.

Tommy Molsky got Areinamo to ground into a 6-4-3 double play with Garcia taking third base.  However, Molsky walked Blake Burke to extend the inning.  Juan Baez made him pay with a single to right to score Garcia.

The Bandits came back in the bottom of the seventh inning.  A one-out triple to center by Trevor Werner got the tying run to third against Zach Peek.  Callan Moss followed with a double to drive in the tying run.  Peek got the final two outs to keep the game tied.

Sunday marked the third consecutive game with the score tied 1-1 heading into the eighth inning.  Quad Cities won the previous two games with a run in the bottom of the eighth for a 2-1 on Friday and four runs in the bottom of the eleventh for a 5-4 win on Saturday.  The third time would be a charm for the Rattlers.

Garcia and Hall started the rally in the top of the eighth with a walk by Garcia and a single off the base umpire by Hall against Shane Panzini.  Areinamo was next.  He grounded a hit inside the bag at first.  Garcia and Hall scored easily as the ball rolled to the corner for a two-run double.  Burke followed with a single to center to drive in Areinamo.  Eduardo Garcia capped the inning with an RBI double for a 5-1 lead.

Five Wisconsin pitchers scattered eight hits, struck out eleven, and walked none on Sunday.  Tyson Hardin, who started game one of the series last Tuesday, worked four scoreless innings with four hits and five strikeouts.  Jeferson Figueroa pitched around a two-out double in the sixth for two scoreless innings.  Peek gave up the run but kept the go-ahead run in scoring position in the seventh.  Yerlin Rodriguez struck out three while allowing a two-out single in the eighth.  Aidan Maldonado closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning.

In three appearances on the mound this season, Yerlin Rodriguez has pitched five innings with no walks and ten strikeouts.

Eduardo Garcia’s double in the eighth extended his team-high hitting and on-base streaks.  Garcia is on a seven-game on-base streak and a five-game hitting streak through Sunday.

The Rattlers welcome the Lansing Lugnuts to Neuroscience Group Field on Tuesday night to begin a six-game series.  Ryan Birchard (0-0, 0.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Wisconsin.  Lansing has named Jake Garland (0-1, 4.15) as their starter.  Game time is 6:40pm CDT.

The Green Bay Gamblers enter the playoffs on a three-game losing streak after losing to Cedar Rapids 6-0 on Friday and 6-5 to Madison on Saturday.

 

In Friday's game, Gavin Moffatt was chased from the game in the second period after giving up four goals in less than 30 minutes of game action as the Gamblers were outshot 38-18.

 

In Saturday's game, Cody Sokol, Lukas Peterson, and Mykhailo Danylov scored in the second period to give the Gamblers a 4-3 lead entering the third period, only to see the lead disappear early in the frame. Geno Carcone started and ended the scoring for the Gamblers in the loss. 

A tense, pitchers’ duel at Modern Woodmen Park between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Quad Cities River Bandits turned into a nerve-wracking, highwire act in the late stages, before the offensive explosion in the eleventh inning for both teams.  The Rattlers broke the 1-1 tie with three runs in the top of the eleventh only to see the Bandits score four in the bottom of the eleventh for a 5-4, walkoff victory.

 

Wisconsin (3-5) scored first.  Eduardo Garcia singled with one out in the fourth.  Tayden Hall drove a double to the wall in right with two outs and Garcia scored all the way from first for a 1-0 lead.  That was the only run Wisconsin managed against River Bandit starting pitcher Hunter Patteson over his six innings.

Rattlers starting pitcher Chandler Welch was perfect through four innings.  However, the Bandits (6-2) got to him in the fifth.  Bryan Gonzalez started the inning with a fly ball to center.  Kay-Lan Nicasia raced back to the wall to make a play, but he misjudged the wind as the breeze held up the ball and pushed it back to the infield.  Nicasia tried to correct his course, but the ball dropped just in front of him in the grass, and Gonzalez had a lead-off double for the first base runner.

Trevor Werner was next, and he bunted for a single to move Gonzalez to third base.  Welch threw a wild pitch to the backstop with Gonzalez trying to score.  Fortunately, a good bounce got the ball to catcher Matt Wood in a hurry, and Wood tossed a strike to Welch covering the plate for the out on Gonzalez.

However, Austin Charles doubled to put runners at second and third for the Bandits.  Callan Moss drove in Werner from third with a grounder to second to tie the game.

Welch struck out seven over his six innings, allowed three hits, and walked none.  He would leave with the score still tied.

Both teams had chances to take the lead in regulation. 

Garcia doubled with one out in the sixth inning against Quad Cities starter Hunter Patteson, who struck out the next two batters.  In the eighth, Jadher Areinamo singled and Wood walked with one out against Caden Monke.  A wild pitch on a strikeout by reliever Zachary Cawyer moved both runners into scoring position before he ended the inning with a flyout to right.

The Bandits had a two-out double against Dikember Sanchez in the seventh and stranded that runner.

Reliever Patricio Aquino would have made Houdini proud with his escape acts in the eighth, ninth, and tenth innings. 

Quad Cities loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, before Aquino got out of the jam with a strikeout and a force play at third.  In the ninth, Gonzalez tripled to start the inning.  Aquino got a strikeout.  Then, Gonzalez tried to score on a grounder to short off the bat of Austin Charles with the infield in on the grass.  He was cut down for the second out.  Charles broke for second with Callan Moss at the plate, but Moss was called out for interference when he swung and missed the ball, but mad contact with Wood.  That call led to the ejection of Quad Cities manager Jesus Azuaje.

The Rattlers did nothing in the top of the tenth with Quad Cities electing to walk Areinamo intentionally with a runner at second and two outs.

 

Aquino saved his best for last as he worked a scoreless tenth to keep the game tied 1-1.  Moss, the placed runner at second to start the inning, tried to go to third on a grounder to short and was the first out of the inning.  Back-to-back singles by Omar Hernandez and Erick Torres loaded the bases again.  And – again – Aquino slipped out of the trap with a slow chopper back to the mound that turned into a force play at the plate for the second out and a strikeout to end the frame and send the game to the eleventh.

The Rattlers broke through in the eleventh to take the lead.  Garcia beat out an infield single to the left side of the infield for his third hit of the game.  Wood, the runner placed at second to start the eleventh, had to hold on the play.  Hall stepped to the plate with one out and cracked a double to right-center to score Wood and get Garcia to third base.  Daniel Guilarte drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases.  Then, Luis Castillo ripped a double to right to score two runs for a 4-1 lead. 

Wisconsin had runners at second and third with one out after that double by Castillo but could not add to the lead and it would cost them.

Aaron Rund took over for Aquino for the bottom of the eleventh.  Gonzalez singled to left to send the place runner to third.  Trevor Werner followed with a single to right on a 3-2 pitch to drive in a run for the Bandits.  Rund got the first out on a popup, but Moss tripled to the corner in right to knock in the tying runs.

The second out came when Rund struck out Carter Frederick looking at strike three in a three-pitch at bat.  Then, Hernandez, who broke an 0-for-12 slump with singles in the eighth and tenth, hit a sinking line drive to right that dropped in to score the winning run to cap Quad Cities four-run rally.

The River Bandits take a 3-2 lead in the series with the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park.  The pitching matchup is a rematch of game one of the series last Tuesday with Tyson Hardin (1-0, 0.00) as Wisconsin’s scheduled starter and Logan Martin (0-1, 4.15) set to go for the Bandits.  Game time is 1:00pm CDT. 

Defense was optional but the Green Bay Blizzard came back from a slim halftime deficit to beat the Tulsa Oilers 74-68.

 

Each team turned the ball over on downs just once during the course of the game with the Blizzard doing so just before halftime to allow the Oilers to have the upper hand with a 40-38 lead at the break. The Oilers' miscue came late in the game when they had the ball with a chance to win the game late but could not convert on fourth down to send the game into overtime. The Oilers kicked a field goal in the extra frame, but it was Max Meylor's third rushing touchdown of the game that sent the near capacity crowd into a tizzy.

 

Meylor had seven total touchdowns on the game, complementing his rushing totals with 183 yards and four passing touchdowns. Kymani Clarke also had three rushing touchdowns for the Blizzard while four different receivers caught a touchdown pass from Meylor.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Quad Cities River Bandits 9-4 in ten innings on Thursday night at Modern Woodmen Park.  A familiar face in Jadher Areinamo made a huge defensive play and Kay-Lan Nicasia, the newest member of the Rattlers, hit a pair of homers, including a game-sealing grand slam in the tenth inning.

 

Nicasia gave Wisconsin (3-3) the lead with a lead-off home run in the top of the third inning.  He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in his Rattlers debut on Wednesday night, but he went with this 1-1 pitch from Bandits starter Frank Mozzicato out to right-center for the homer.

Quad Cities (4-2) used the longball to go in front in the bottom of the fourth.  Trevor Werner hit a two-run homer to right for a 2-1 lead.

The Rattlers scraped for a run in the top of the fifth to even the score.  Tayden Hall started the inning with a single and Luis Castillo walked with one out.  Juan Baez lined a single to left with two outs to drive in Hall with the tying run.

The Bandits went back in front with another homer.  Bryan Gonzalez, who had singled just before Werner’s homer in the fourth, hit a lead-off homer to right and Quad Cities had a 3-2 lead.

Manuel Rodriguez, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, would pitch 5-2/3 innings in the game.  He allowed six hits, including the two homers, walked two and struck out four.  Bayden Root relieved Rodriguez with a runner on and two outs in the sixth and got a strikeout to end the inning.  Root would also strike out the side in the seventh to keep Wisconsin within a run.

Areinamo saved the game late twice for the Timber Rattlers.  The first time was with his bat.  Areinamo led off the Wisconsin eighth inning with a triple off the wall in left.  Blake Burke followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game 3-3.

In the bottom of the ninth, Quad Cities had a runner at second with two outs.  Omar Hernandez hit soft line drive that appeared headed for a game-winning single in shallow right-center.  Areinamo, who was playing second, timed his leap perfectly and snagged the ball in the webbing of his glove for the final out of the frame to send the game to extra innings.

That defensive play gave a left to the Wisconsin offense.  Baez started the inning with a single to left to score Yhoswar Garcia from second base for a 4-3 lead.  Nate Ackenhausen got the first out but walked Burke on four pitches.  Eduardo Garcia was next, and he ripped a double down the third base line.  Baez scored, but pinch runner Daniel Guilarte was out at the plate for the second out.

Ackenhausen couldn’t find the strike zone to the next two batters as he hit Matt Wood with his next offering and walked Hall on four pitches to load the bases.

Nicasia unloaded the bases with one swing at the first pitch of his at bat for a long, grand slam to left-center for a 9-3 advantage.

Aidan Maldonado took over for the bottom of the tenth.  He gave up an RBI double to Carson Roccaforte to start the inning but retired the next three Bandits to close out the game.

Yerlin Rodriguez, the beneficiary of Areinamo’s web gem, picked up the win with two scoreless innings.  He struck out four.

 

Game four of the series is Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park.  Bishop Letson (0-0, 5.40) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin.  Drew Beam (0-0, 13.50) is set to start for the Bandits.  Game time is 6:30pm.

The Green Bay Gamblers will hit the road this weekend for the final time this regular season for a two-city tour.

 

With their spot in the Clark Cup Playoffs secured, the Gamblers split their matchups with Western Conference foe Sioux Falls, winning 4-2 last Friday and falling 9-2 the next night. Will Zellers (44 G) and Aidan Park (33 G) remain the top goal-scorers in the USHL? Zellers are one point behind Sioux City's Giacomo Martino for the race to be the top scorer overall.

 

The Gamblers will play at Cedar Rapids on Friday night before concluding the regular season in Madison on Saturday. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. 

The Green Bay Blizzard look to avoid a third straight loss on Friday night when they host the Tulsa Oilers at the Resch Center.

 

The Blizzard saw a first-half lead disappear for the second week in a row, falling 51-47 to the Arizona Rattlers last Sunday. The Blizzard stuck around the game despite a large disparity between total yards (350-166) and passing yards (269-98). Trailing 13-8 at the end of the first quarter,  Max Meylor engineered three touchdown drives in the second quarter to help the Blizzard take a 30-26 lead in the locker room. The Blizzard were able to extend that lead in the third quarter only to see the Rattlers outscore them 22-10 in the final stanza to steal the game away. The Rattlers scored three straight touchdowns to put the game out of reach for the Bllizard's second straight home loss. 

 

Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m.

 A two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh inning led to the only run of Wednesday’s game at Modern Woodmen Park between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Quad Cities River Bandits.  Carson Roccaforte cracked a two-out, RBI double on a 2-2 pitch for put the Bandits up 1-0.  That 1-0 score would be the final as the home team held off a last-ditch rally by Wisconsin.

 

Quad Cities (4-1) took the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.  Wisconsin pitchers Ryan Birchard, Zach Peek, and Daniel Corniel held the River Bandits to one hit over the first 6-/23 innings.  Corniel had retired the side in order in the bottom of the sixth for his Rattlers debut.  He went back out for the bottom of the seventh and quickly retired the first two Bandits of that inning.

However, Chris Brito, who had the first Quad Cities hit of the game with a double in the third inning, doubled to extend the seventh inning.  Roccaforte was next, and he doubled on one hop off the wall in right-center to drive in Brito for a 1-0 lead.

Wisconsin (2-3) had missed on their chance to take the lead in the top of the sixth inning.  Blake Burke and Matt Wood started the inning with consecutive singles.  Burke tried to steal third on a 2-2 pitch with Eduardo Garcia at the plate.  However, the throw to third was just in time to nip Burke for the first out.  Garcia would walk on the next offering from Quad Cities reliever Tyler Davis.  Then, Davis got Daniel Guilarte to ground into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play.

In the ninth, the Rattlers threatened again.  Wood walked to start the frame against Zachary Cawyer.  Garcia followed with a single.  Guilarte grounded back to the mound and Cawyer went to third for the force out on Wood for the first out.  Cawyer got the second out with a strikeout but walked Kay-Lan Nicasia to load the bases.  The threat ended moments later when Yhoswar Garcia popped out to Brito to end the game.

Both teams had four hits and stranded eight runners in the contest.

Birchard, in his 2025 debut with Wisconsin, allowed one hit, walked four, and struck out four over 3-2/3 innings.  The Bandits nearly took the lead against Birchard in the bottom of the third.  Brito reached leadoff double.  Birchard got the next two outs on a strikeout and a foul popout.  Then, Sam Kulasingam hit a hard grounder to the right side of the infield.  Burke ranged far from first base and made a dive for the ball, but it got past him.  However, Jadher Areinamo ranged far to his left from his second base position and fired a strike to Birchard covering the bag for the final out.

In the fourth, Birchard got the first two batters, but walked the final two batters he faced. Zach Peek came on to get the final out.

The teams have split the first two games of the series with the winning team recording a shutout in each victory.  Game three of the series is Thursday night at Modern Woodmen Park.  Manuel Rodriguez (0-1, 0.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin.  The River Bandits have named Frank Mozzicato (1-0, 1.80) as their starter.

The draft is still weeks away, but the players currently on the Green Bay Packers roster know when they are returning to work.

 

The NFL released the workout dates for all 32 teams earlier this week. According to the league, each club’s official, voluntary nine-week offseason program is conducted in three phases:

• Phase One consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.
• Phase Two consists of the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as “perfect play drills,” and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted.
• Phase Three consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or “OTAs”. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

The Packers' dates are below:

First Day: April 21

OTA Offseason Workouts: May 27-28, May 30, June 2-3, June 5

Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12

Tyson Hardin had an impressive debut for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Tuesday night against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Modern Woodmen Park.  The Rattlers starting pitcher faced the minimum over five scoreless, hitless innings with four strikeouts to earn the victory in the Rattlers 4-0 win over the Bandits.

 

Wisconsin (2-2) got the breakthrough in the top of the third inning.  Jadher Areinamo doubled with two outs to get on base.  Matt Wood followed with a double off the wall in right to drive in Areinamo for the 1-0 lead.  Eduardo Garcia was next and fell behind Bandits starter Logan Martin 0-2.  Garcia stayed in the at bat and worked the count full before singling to right on the ninth pitch of the at bat to drive in Wood for a 2-0 lead.

Quad Cities (3-1) managed one base runner against Hardin over five innings.  Daniel Vazquez walked with one out in the first but was erased on a double play when Trevor Werner lined out to Blake Burke at first.  Hardin was only in trouble twice in the game.  He trailed Erick Torres with a 3-1 count on three straight balls in the third inning but bounced back to strikeout Torres looking.  In the fifth inning, Sam Kulasingam lined a ball right past Hardin’s face for what looked like a single up the middle.  However, Areinamo – in his first start at shortstop this season, ranged over to the first base side of second and fired a strike to Burke to the out.

Hardin made just 51 pitches with 34 going for strikes.

Hedbert Pérez doubled the Wisconsin lead in the top of the sixth.  Daniel Guilarte had extended the inning with a two-out single against reliever Mauricio Velez.  Then, Pérez ambushed a 1-1 pitch and crushed a long home run to right for a 4-0 advantage.
 

Aaron Rund took over for Hardin in the bottom of the sixth and walked the first two batters he faced before retiring the next three hitters.  Rund got the first out of the seventh on a grounder to third.  The no-hit bid ended on the next batter.  Carter Frederick lined a clean single to center on a 3-2 pitch.  Brian Fitzpatrick was called in from the Wisconsin bullpen to take over for Rund and closed out the inning with a flyout and a strikeout.

Then, Fitzpatrick closed out the game by setting down the Bandits in order in the eighth and ninth innings.  He retired all eight batters he faced and struck out four.

The Wisconsin offense had fifteen base runners in the game, but only three of those runners reached with less than two outs.  Wisconsin’s last seven runs – the last three on Sunday and all four on Tuesday – have been scored after there were two out with none on base in an inning.

Tuesday was the home opener for Quad Cities.

The Rattlers have won two straight games and will go for a third straight win in game two of the series on Wednesday night at Modern Woodmen Park.  Ryan Birchard is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers.  Felix Arronde is set to start for the Bandits.  Both pitchers will be making their 2025 debuts.  Game time is 6:30pm.

The Green Bay Blizzard saw a first-half lead disappear for the second week in a row, falling 51-47 to the Arizona Rattlers on Sunday.

 

The Blizzard stuck around the game despite a large disparity between total yards (350-166) and passing yards (269-98). Trailing 13-8 at the end of the first quarter,  Max Meylor engineered three touchdown drives in the second quarter to help the Blizzard take a 30-26 lead in the locker room. The Blizzard were able to extend that lead in the third quarter only to see the Rattlers outscore them 22-10 in the final stanza to steal the game away. The Rattlers scored three straight touchdowns to put the game out of reach for the Bllizard's second straight home loss. 

 

The Blizzard will have a short week ahead of them as they play at the Resch Center on Friday night against the Tulsa Oilers at 6:05 p.m. 

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers earned their first win of the season with a 7-6 victory over the Cedar Rapids Kernels in front of a 5,001 fans on Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Blake Burke, the Milwaukee Brewers competitive balance pick in the 2024 draft, went 3-for-4 with three RBI and his first professional home run. Jadher Areinamo added a homer and three RBI for Wisconsin

 

 

 

The Kernels (2-1) started the game with a windblown triple to center by their lead-off batter Kaelen Culpepper. Wisconsin starting pitcher Chandler Welch got the first out on a strikeout and the second out when Culpepper tried to score on a grounder back to the mound off the bat of Brandon Winokur.

 

Welch was one pitch away from getting out of the inning with a 2-2 count on Billy Amick. However, Amick laced a double to left-center to drive in Winokur. Later in the inning, Gabriel Gonzalez doubled when the ball popped out of the glove of Yhoswar Garcia, who was trying to make a diving catch in left. Amick scored on the play and the Kernels were up 2-0.

 

Wisconsin (1-2) responded immediately in their half of the first. Yophery Rodriguez, who had trouble with Culpepper’s fly ball to start the game, got a little redemption as he tripled to start Wisconsin’s rally. Burke put the Rattlers on the scoreboard with a line drive single to right to score Rodriguez. Areinamo, the third Wisconsin hitter of the inning, crushed a 2-1 pitch from Kernels starter Tanner Hall off the scoreboard for a two-run homer and a 3-1 lead.

 

Cedar Rapids tied the game on a two-out single by Kyle DeBarge in the second. They took the lead in the third when Amick tripled to start the frame. Khadim Diaw drove in Amick with a sacrifice fly.

 

 

 

The Rattlers evened the score in the bottom of the third. Rodriguez had a lead-off double, Burke moved him to third with a ground out, and Areinamo drove him in with a grounder to second.

 

Burke put Wisconsin in front with a 434-foot home run to right-center in the bottom of the fifth. Hall got the first two outs of the inning and was ahead of Burke 1-2. Then, Burke jumped on the next offering and smashed the baseball to the flagpoles beyond the wall in right-center, the deepest part of the ballpark.

 

Cedar Rapids tied the score again in the top of the seventh inning against Patricio Aquino. Amick started the inning with a double, his third hit of the game. Gabriel Gonzalez doubled with one out to drive in Amick. The Kernels loaded the bases with one out on a walk and hit batsman. However, Aquino escaped by getting Kyle Hess to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

 

 

There were none on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning for Wisconsin. Rodriguez changed that when he drew a walk on the 3-2 pitch from Jack Noble. Rodriguez was running on an 0-1 pitch to Burke and scored easily when Burke’s blooper to left spun past Gonzalez for an RBI double.

 

 

The Kernels threatened again in the top of the eighth as a double by pinch-hitter Danny De Andrade and an error by Eduardo Garcia put runners on first and second with no outs. Wisconsin called on Yerlin Rodriguez to get out of the jam and the right-handed reliever struck out the next three batters to preserve the win.

 

 

 

Wisconsin was looking for insurance in the bottom of the eighth, but once again had none on with two outs. Then, Tayden Hall ripped a double to right and Hedbert Perez cracked a triple to right-center for a 7-5 lead.

 

Gonzalez gave Cedar Rapids some hope with a lead-off home run in the top of the ninth. However, Yerlin Rodriguez closed out the game by retiring the next three batters in order for his first save of the season. Rodriguez struck out four in his two innings of work to close out Wisconsin’s first win of the season.

 

The Kernels had twelve hit, including nine for extra bases (six doubles, two triples, and a homer), but went 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Wisconsin had eight hits seven of them going for extra bases (three doubles, two triples, and two homers).

 

 

 

The Timber Rattlers are off on Monday. They will return to action on Tuesday with their first road game of the season when they start a series with the Quad Cities River Bandits at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa. Wisconsin has named Tyson Hardin as their starting pitcher. The Bandits are scheduled to start Logan Martin. Both pitchers will make their 2025 debuts in the game that is scheduled to start at 6:30pm.  

The Green Bay Blizzard look for their second win of the season on Sunday when they host the Arizona Rattlers at the Resch Center.

 

The Blizzard held onto a halftime lead to beat the Iowa Barnstormers 52-47 at the Resch Center on March 28th. The offensive pace slowed down after the break, but the gap never disappeared after the Blizzard entered the locker room with a 31-26 lead. The Rattlers earned 56-28 victory over the Tucson Sugar Skulls thanks in part to five first-half touchdowns in their season debut.

 

Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m.

The Green Bay Gamblers had a forgettable end to their home regular season slate on Saturday, losing to the Sioux Falls Stampede 9-2.

 

After David Green scored the Gamblers' first goal n the opening four minutes, the Stampede scored the next eight goals. Aidan Park broke the dubious streak of tallies with one of his own in just under five minutes to go in the game. Gavin Moffatt was chased from the game just over halfway through the game after stopping 22 of the 27 shots he faced.

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers had a late lead but let it get away from them in a 6-4 loss to the Cedar Rapids Kernels Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field.  The Rattlers fought back from an early 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning only to see the visitors tie the game in the seventh and take the lead with two runs on no hits in the eighth.

 

Wisconsin (0-2) staged a two-out, rally in the bottom of the third to take a 1-0 lead.  David Garcia was hit by a pitch, Yophery Rodriguez reached on a bloop single that dropped on the infield dirt at short, and Jadher Areinamo drew a walk to load the bases.  Then, Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Alejandro Hidalgo hit Blake Burke with the next pitch to force in the first run of the game.

The Rattlers were left wondering what could have been in that inning as Juan Baez smoked a hard grounder up the middle on the next pitch.  However, Hidalgo snared the ball on the mound with a quick reaction to turn the potential run-scoring hit into a 1-3 putout to end the frame with the bases loaded.

Bishop Letson, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, ran into some trouble with one out in the top of the fourth as he walked back-to-back hitters and exited the game.  Letson left after 58 pitches with four strikeouts and one hit.

Rayne Doncon greeted reliever Bayden Root with a three-run home run to left-center on a 1-2 pitch to give the Kernels (2-0) a 3-1 lead.

The Timber Rattlers responded in the bottom of the fourth.  Eduardo Garcia hit a leadoff double, and Luis Castillo moved him to third with a grounder to the right side of the infield.  Yhoswar Garcia drove in Eduardo Garcia with a single.

In the fifth, Areinamo doubled with one out.  Burke was next and worked a ten-pitch walk after falling behind 0-2 on the first two pitches.  One of the misses to Burke was a wild pitch that moved Areinamo to third base.  Baez drove in the tying run with a weak grounder to first that also allowed Burke to move up to second.  Eduardo Garcia followed with his second double of the game and this one scored Burke for a 4-3 advantage.

The Kernels tied the game in the top of the seventh.  Caeden Kendle singled to start the inning and Kyle DeBarge singled with one out.  Reliever Anthony Flores threw a wild pitch to let both runners move into scoring position and Brandon Winokur knocked in Kendle with a grounder to second.

A bout of wildness in the top of the eighth allowed the Kernels to take the lead.  Reliever Dikember Sanchez walked the first two batters he faced and hit the third to load the bases with no outs.  He would throw a wild pitch to let the go-ahead run score before walking the next batter to reload the bases.  Kendle drove in an insurance run for Cedar Rapids with a tricky grounder to first.  Sanchez walked one more batter to load the bases again before Zach Peek relieved from the Wisconsin bullpen to get the final two outs of the frame with no further damage.

Paulshawn Pasqualotto entered the game from the Cedar Rapids bullpen in the bottom of the eighth inning and walked the leadoff batter but erased that walk on a double play and ended the inning with a strikeout.  He returned for the bottom of the ninth and retired Wisconsin in order to earn the save as he closed out the game.
 

Despite the teams combining for ten runs, neither offense was efficient.  The Kernels stranded ten runners and went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.  Wisconsin left seven on base while going 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

 

Game three of the series is Sunday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field.  The starting pitching matchup is scheduled to be Chandler Welch for the Timber Rattlers against Tanner Hall for the Kernels.  Game time is 1:10pm.

Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur officially named several new coaches to round out his staff for 2025.

 

The Packers have hired DeMarcus Covington as defensive line/run game coordinator, Luke Getsy as senior assistant, Cory Harkey as special teams quality control coach, Jeremiah Kolone as offensive assistant (minority fellowship), Jeff Koonz as defensive assistant and Jamael Lett as a defensive quality control coach, promoted Sean Duggan to linebackers coach and Sean Mannion to quarterbacks coach and moved Connor Lewis to pass game specialist/game management. 

 

It is a second tour of duty for Getsy after he left the organization to become the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears while the announcement marked promotions for Duggan and Mannion from their roles on last year's staff. 

 

It took until August 21, 2024 for a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher to get eleven strikeouts in game last season.  Manuel Rodriguez, a 19-year-old in his High-A debut, got there in game one of the 2025 season.  The Rattlers starting pitcher struck out eleven over 4-1/3 innings on Friday night in the season opener at Neuroscience Group Field against the Cedar Rapids Kernels.  However, the Kernels defeated Wisconsin 4-1 to spoil the party.

Rodriguez opened the game by striking out the side in the first inning to open the season.  He would strike out two more batters in the second and pitched around a one-out double in the third with three more strikeouts for eight Ks in the first ten batters faced.

Wisconsin (0-1) looked like they would get to Cedar Rapids starter Charlee Soto in the first inning.  Lead-off batter Yophery Rodriguez singled on the first pitch he saw.  Blake Burke followed with another single two pitches later.  Soto got the first out with a strikeout before walking Matt Wood to load the bases.  The threat died down as Soto got Juan Baez to tap in front of the plate on the next pitch for an inning-ending 2-3 double play.

The Kernels (1-0) broke through in the top of the fourth.  Kyle DeBarge started the inning with a single and stole second.  Rodriguez issued his only walk of the game to the next batter.  Then, Billy Amick singled to shallow right and a bobble by Hedbert Perez allowed DeBarge to score.

Rodriguez bounced back to strike out the final two batters of the fourth and the first batter of the fifth to give him eleven strikeouts.  In the game, he allowed an unearned run on three hits over 70 pitches.

Cedar Rapids added to their lead in the sixth inning.  DeBarge walked and Brandon Winokur followed with an RBI double.  In the seventh, Wisconsin’s defense committed errors on two consecutive plays before Gabriel Gonzalez singled to load the bases.  Caden Kendle lined the next pitch to the corner in left to drive in two runs for a 4-0 advantage.

The Rattlers only had four baserunners from the second through the eighth innings with three walk and a runner reaching on an error. 

Then, the bats woke up in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate on a chilly night at the park.  Wood and Baez started the ninth inning with singles.  Tayden Hall plated Wood with a two-out single to left to break up the shutout bid before the Kernels got the final out of the game to seal the win.

There were thirty strikeouts in the game.  Four Wisconsin pitchers combined for seventeen with three Kernels hurlers totaling thirteen.

 

Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field. Bishop Letson, the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers, is making his Midwest League debut.  Alejandro Hidalgo has been named the starter for the Kernels.  Game time is 1:10pm.

The Green Bay Gamblers made it two wins in a row Friday night with its 4-2 victory over the Sioux Falls Stampede at the Resch Center.

 

The two teams traded goals with Egor Shilov and Aidan Park tallying goals for the Gamblers. The two teams would trade goals in the second period as well with Mykhailo Danylov  breaking the 2-2 tie. The Gamblers added insurance late when Zach Wooten  tallied an empty netter to end the game. Gavin Moffatt was named the #1 star for his performance in net for the Gamblers, stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced.

 

The Gamblers end their home regular season slate at 6:05 p.m. Saturday.

The Green Bay Gamblers will play their final home games of the regular season on Friday and Saturday when they welcome the Sioux Falls Stampede to the Resch Center.

 

The Gamblers started and ended March with wins thanks to a 6-2 decision over Team USA last Sunday. Elliot Gulley registered the lone Gamblers in the first period, but the team was still chasing Team USA 2-1 before they turned their fate with four goals in the second period. Geno Carcone scored two goals in the first ten minutes, while Will Zellers and Zach Wooten added tallies in the back half to make it 5-2. Aidan Park added an insurance goal in the third period to give the Gamblers their first win since March 1st when they beat Youngstown on the road 4-3. Leo Henriquez had a light day at the office with just 20 shots on goal, stopping 18. The win gave them one of the final spots in the USHL playoffs.

 

Friday's game will start at 7:05 p.m. while Saturday's matchup begins at 6:05 p.m.

The Green Bay Rockers introduced their newest alternate identity on Thursday, putting the roll in "rock and roll."

 

In partnership with a local manufacturer, the Green Bay Rockers will be the Green Bay Rollers for at least one game this season as they salute the city's role in the toilet paper industry. The Rockers will wear the specialty-themed toilet paper jerseys when they play the Madison Mallards on July 23rd .

 

According to the Rockers, Green Bay has one of the largest tissue recycling operations in the world. It’s the place where the first splinter-free toilet paper was introduced in 1935. The robust industry of toilet paper production also helped shield the city from the worst of The Great Depression, making it the "Toliet Paper Capital of the World."

A lot of familiar faces are returning to Titletown for another campaign with the Green Bay Glory.

 

The Glory began their string of roster announcements over the weekend, beginning with former Algoma goalkeeper Haakon Utesch. The organization has announce one member for its men's and women's teams in the days since. You can see those new additions below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Green Bay Packers are the newest NFL team to place their flag in European countries as a part of the NFL's Global Markets program.

 

The Packers were granted rights across Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, joining the Baltimore Ravens (United Kingdom), Los Angeles Chargers (Greece), and Washington Commanders (United Arab Emirates) as the league's new teams admitted into the program. The Packers will share rights with the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Germany, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, and Pittsburgh Steelers for Ireland, and the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers for the United Kingdom.

 

Launched in 2022, the Global Markets Program awards NFL clubs international marketing rights to build brand awareness and fandom beyond the U.S. through fan engagement, events, commercial opportunities, and NFL Flag development. 

 

In total, 29 clubs will participate in the program across 21 international markets—up from 25 clubs across 19 markets in 2024—as the NFL continues to prioritize global growth and connect with more fans worldwide. 

 

“The expansion of the Global Markets Program in 2025 reflects the NFL’s continued focus to grow the game and connect with fans on a global scale,” said NFL Executive Vice President, Club Business, Major Events & International Peter O'Reilly. “With more clubs entering the program and existing clubs adding to their global rights, and as the program expands to new markets, we are seeing strong momentum and impact in growing fandom worldwide together.” 

We have known that Opening Night for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers is Friday, April 4 at Neuroscience Group Field for a long time.  Now, we know the players who will be in uniform for manager Victor Estevez when they face the Cedar Rapids Kernels at 6:40pm this Friday with the announcement of the roster for the 2025 season.

Estevez, his coaching & support staff, and the 29 players on the Wisconsin roster will be looking to defend their 2024 Midwest League West Division Title with a group of prospects and returning players from last year’s playoff run.

There are five members of MLB Pipeline’s Brewers Top 30 Prospects list opening the season in Wisconsin:  Outfielder Yophery Rodriguez (#7), pitcher Bishop Letson (#15), and infielders Blake Burke (#17), Jadher Areinamo (#24), and Juan Baez (#27).  The Baseball America Prospect Handbook’s Brewers Top 30 List is slightly different with Letson (#8), Rodriguez (#14), Areinamo (#24), Burke (#26), and Manuel Rodriguez (#28).

Seventeen members of the 2025 roster played for the Timber Rattlers:  Areinamo, Patricio Aquino, Ryan Birchard, Burke, Jeferson Figueroa, Brian Fitzpatrick, Eduardo Garcia, Tayden Hall, Aidan Maldonado, Hedbert Pérez, Yerlin Rodriguez, Yophery Rodriguez, Bayden Root, Aaron Rund, Dikember Sánchez, Chandler Welch, and Matt Wood

Estevez, who was the Carolina League Manager of the Year in 2023 and the Midwest League Manager of the Year in 2024, is back for his second season with the Rattlers.

2025 Timber Rattlers:
Pitchers (16):  Patricio Aquino, Ryan Birchard, Daniel Corniel, Jeferson Figueroa, Brian Fitzpatrick, Anthony Flores, Tyson Hardin, Bishop Letson, Aidan Maldonado, Zach Peek, Manuel Rodríguez, Yerlin Rodriguez, Bayden Root, Aaron Rund, Dikember Sánchez, and Chandler Welch

Catchers (3): David García, Edgardo Ord?ñez, and Matt Wood

Infielders (6): Jadher Areinamo, Juan Baez, Blake Burke, Eduardo Garcia, Daniel Guilarte, and Tayden Hall

Outfielders (4): Luis Castillo, Yhoswar Garcia, Hedbert Pérez, and Yophery Rodriguez.

There are players from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States with the Rattlers. 

 

Fans can get their first look at the 2025 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in action during Fan Fest on Wednesday, April 2 when the team practices on the field – weather permitting – at 1:30pm with a scrimmage scheduled for 3:00pm. Admission and parking are free.