July 16 Game Notes

LAST ACTION: The Rattlers lost 9-4 at Fort Wayne on Monday night. The Wizards outhit Wisconsin 16-3 to pick up the victory. Jeremy Hefner, Fort Wayne’s starting pitcher allowed one run on one hit and struck out three over six innings for the win.

LA CASA è CORSA: Rattler third baseman Alex Liddi hit his third home run of the season in the fifth inning off Hefner. The homer, hit with two outs in the fifth, was the only Rattler hit off Hefner. The long ball for Liddi was his first since May 6 at Great Lakes. All three of Liddi’s homers in 2008 have been hit on the road.

ROAD TRIP! The Rattlers completed their six-game swing through Dayton and Fort Wayne 1-5. The Dragons swept a three-game set from Wisconsin at Fifth Third Field. Wisconsin dropped two out of three games at Memorial Stadium against the Wizards. Wisconsin’s road record dropped to 17-34 after Monday.

RUNS: Wisconsin scored five runs in their 5-4 win over the Wizards on July 12. In the other five games on the road trip, the Rattlers scored a total of ten runs.

HITS: The Rattler offense managed five hits in their last two games at Fort Wayne The Rattlers had two hits on Sunday and had a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, but could not hold the lead. On the just completed trip, the Rattlers hit .179 (35-for-196).

ERRORS: During the six-game trip, the Rattlers committed just four errors. There was only one game on the trip in which Wisconsin was charged with more than one error. That was the first game at Dayton on July 9 and the Rattlers committed two errors.

JUST MENTIONING IT: The Timber Rattlers are 1-9 at home in the second half. Wisconsin has not won on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium since a 4-3 win in eleven innings over the Burlington Bees on June 22. Wisconsin has lost six straight at home and their home record has dipped to 18-21 overall this season.

TURNOVER: Since Opening Day, there have been 44 different players who have seen action with the Timber Rattlers this season. In 2007, 56 different players (including a pair of major league rehabbers) wore a Rattler jersey to set a team record for the most different players in a season.

GOING UP: Of the players who were on Wisconsin Opening Day Roster five (Bryan Harris, Donnie Hume, Travis Mortimore, Korey Feiner, and Gavin Dickey) are with High Desert in the California League; one (Shawn Kelley) is with West Tennessee in the Southern League; and one (Justin Souza) is with Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The South Bend Silver Hawks are Midwest League affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They finished the first half with a record of 33-36 and missed the playoffs in the Eastern Division. The Silver Hawks are currently 15-10 and hold the top playoff spot in the East by one game over the Dayton Dragons. South Bend has a record of 24-20 on the road this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .237 as a team and have scored 329 runs (3.7/game). Wisconsin has hit 34 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.93. South Bend is hitting .250 as a team and has scored 415 runs (4.4/game). The Hawks have hit 47 home runs this season. The South Bend pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.70.

2008 SEASON SERIES: The Silver Hawks swept a three game series at Coveleski Regional Stadium April 21-23. South Bend won game one 5-4; game two 8-4; and game three 10-2.

LAST YEAR IN GRAND CHUTE: The Silver Hawks took three out of four games from the Timber Rattlers.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook places three members of the current South Bend roster on the list of Top 30 Diamondback Prospects: Pitcher Jarrod Parker (#2), pitcher Daniel Stange (#15), pitcher Dallas Buck (#17). Infielder Clayton Conner is on the South Bend disabled list and is rated #24 on the Baseball America list.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2007: The Silver Hawks have 11 members of the 2007 Arizona draft class on their active roster. Pitchers Josh Collmenter (15th), Bryan Henry (12th), Tom Layne (26th), Jarrod Parker (1st), Billy Spottiswood (25th) are joined by catchers Sean Coughlin (20th) and Bill Musselman (30th); infielders Taylor Harbin (8th), Eli Rumler (39th), and Chance Wheeless (17th); and outfielder Jimmy Principe (37th).

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2008: There is one member of Arizona’s 2008 draft class on the current South Bend roster. Outfielder Collin Cowgill was the 5th round pick of the Diamondbacks in this year’s draft.

SOUTH BEND STARTING PITCHER: RH Dallas Buck was the 3rd round pick of the Diamondbacks in the 2006 draft out of Oregon State. He made 16 appearances (all starts) for Visalia, Arizona’s California League affiliate, in 2007 before needing Tommy John surgery in August. Buck was 4-4 with a 3.41 ERA with 88 strikeouts over 97 innings with the Oaks last season. Tonight is his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers, but Buck has faced an affiliate of the Mariners in his career. On April 11, 2007, Buck faced the High Desert Mavericks in a California League game. Buck pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. In his start prior to this evening for the Silver Hawks, Buck pitched 4-2/3 scoreless innings for a no decision against the Quad Cities River Bandits on July 10. He gave up no hits, walked three, and struck out three at home.