Game Notes -- 4/17

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers lost 4-3 at Cedar Rapids. Kernel third baseman Matt Sweeney singled with one out and the bases loaded to snap a 3-3 tie. Wisconsin trailed 2-0 and 3-2 but came back to tie the game each time.

UNSPECIAL K’s: Timber Rattler hitters struck out seventeen times last night. Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Jeremy Haynes struck out ten batters in five innings. In their seven games, the Timber Rattlers have struck out 82 times – the most in the Midwest League. Peoria hitters are second in the league in strikeouts with 78, but they have done that in nine games. The seventeen strikeouts in last night’s game surpassed the sixteen times Rattler hitters were punched out in the opening night game on April 5. Seventeen strikeouts also tied the high from the 2006 season. Dayton pitchers struck out seventeen on August 18 in fourteen inning game at Fifth Third Field.

IN THE CLUTCH: Wisconsin trailed 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning with one out and a runner at first. Gavin Dickey lined a double into the left field corner to drive in the tying run.

NEW PROFESSIONAL HIGHS: Rattler starting pitcher Anthony Varvaro set new professional highs for innings pitched and strikeouts last night. He pitched five innings and struck out six. Varvaro faced one batter in the sixth inning and allowed a single before turning the game over to the Rattler bullpen.

FALLING BEHIND: Wisconsin is 0-5 when their opponents score first.

QUICK STOP: The Timber Rattlers are home for a short two-game homestand against the Snappers. They will head to Beloit for two games on Thursday and Friday before a four game series against the defending Midwest League Champion West Michigan Whitecaps. Wisconsin returns home for an eight game homestand April 26 through May 3. Fort Wayne is at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium for a four game series. The Wizards will be followed into town by the red hot Dayton Dragons.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Beloit Snappers are the Midwest League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. The Snappers were 74-64 in 2006 and made the playoffs as the second half Western Division Wild Card. They defeated the Peoria Chiefs in the first round but lost to Kane County in the Western Division Championship Series. In 2007, the Snappers are off to a 3-4 start. They had won their first three games but were just swept in a four game series at Clinton by the LumberKings. Manager Jeff Smith is back for his second year at the helm in Beloit.

LAST YEAR: The Timber Rattlers and Snappers met eleven times in 2006. Beloit won the season series 7-4. The teams split four games in Appleton last season.

PROSPECTING BELOIT: BASEBALL AMERICA places four members of Beloit’s active roster on their list of the top 30 prospects in the Minnesota organization. Outfielder/first baseman Chris Parmelee, the Twins’ first round pick in 2006, is the highest Snapper on the list at #4. Outfielder Joe Benson, Minnesota’s second round pick in 2006, is next at #8. Pitcher Jeff Manship, a 14th round pick in 2006, is rated #14 on the list. Pitcher Alex Burnett, a 12th rounder in 2005, is #28. Infielder Paul Kelly is listed as the #9 prospect in the Minnesota farm system, but is currently on Beloit’s disabled list.

MWL VETERANS: Sixteen members of the current Beloit roster saw time with the Snappers during the 2006 season.

PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE: Fourteen players on the Beloit roster spent time with the Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League last season. That team won their division with a record of 42-26, but lost in the third game of the best-of-three Appy League Championship Series to Danville.

OPPOSING STARTER: RHP Cole Devries signed as a non-drafted free agent with the Twins in August of 2006 after his junior season at the University of Minnesota. He did not play professionally last season. Devries went 7-3 in his final season with the Golden Gophers. His 2.42 ERA was the third best in the Big Ten in 2006. Devires made his professional debut as a member of the Snappers with one inning of scoreless relief at Kane County on April 9. His last outing was a two inning relief stint at Clinton on April 13 in which he allowed no runs. Tonight is his first professional start and his first appearance against the Rattlers.