Rattlers fall to Peoria in Extra Innings

GRAND CHUTE, WI (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) - The Peoria Chiefs denied the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers a sweep of the four game series between the teams with a 5-3 win in 11 innings Sunday afternoon on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Zeke DeVoss tied the game with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the ninth inning and Oliver Zapata homered in the eleventh to put Peoria in front.

DeVoss put the Chiefs (4-6) in a position to go in front in the top of the first. He tripled to start the game. Pin-Chieh Chen drove in DeVoss with an infield grounder.

The Rattlers (5-5) answered in the bottom of the first with a run of their own. Brandon Macias singled with one out. A walk to Chadwin Stang and a wild pitch moved both runners to scoring position. Jason Rogers knocked in Macias with a grounder to tie the game 1-1. Wisconsin has scored in the first inning in five straight games.

Rogers would score in the fourth inning on an RBI grounder by Yadiel Rivera to put the Rattlers up 2-1. An RBI double by Carlos George in the fifth inning made the score 3-1.

Wisconsin carried that 3-1 lead to the ninth inning. Tommy Toledo came on to face the Chiefs for the ninth. Marco Hernandez, who singled with one out, went to second on defensive indifference with two outs. Then, Toledo walked Zapata. That brought DeVoss to the plate in a familiar situation. He was at the plate on Saturday afternoon with two outs and the tying run at second base and knocked in the tying run with a single.

On Sunday, Toledo got ahead of DeVoss with two quick strikes, but the third pitch of the at bat got away from catcher Tyler Roberts. The wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. DeVoss lined the very next pitch to the outfield for a two-run single that tied the game 3-3.

The Rattlers had the winning run aboard in the ninth and tenth innings, but they could not repeat their walkoff feat from April 14.

Zapata, a 5'-9" switch hitter who is just 180 pounds had just joined the Chiefs during Saturday's game, shocked just about everyone in the ballpark with his homer in the eleventh inning. He jumped on a 2-0 pitch from Tyler Cravy and cleared the wall 405' from home plate in right-center field. Later in the eleventh, Chen was at first with two outs and Ryan Cuneo sent a popup to shallow left field. The ball dropped in amidst three Rattlers defenders and Chen, who was running on contact with two outs, scored all the way from first on the single by Cuneo for a 5-3 lead.

Yadiel Rivera did single with two outs in the bottom of the eleventh inning, but Wisconsin could not comeback against Yao-Lin Wang.

The Rattlers continue their homestand on Monday night with the first game of a three-game series against the Burlington Bees. Matt Miller (0-2, 6.30) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. Burlington has Drew Granier (0-0, 3.00) set to start. Game time is 6:35pm.