ABOUT SUNDAY: The Kane County Cougars beat the Timber Rattlers 6-5 in 10 innings. The Rattlers had a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Cougars tied the game with four in the ninth and won on a bases loaded hit batsman in the tenth.
EARLY SUCCESS: The Rattlers erased an early 1-0 deficit with a run in the fourth inning on a bases loaded 6-4-3 double play. Wisconsin grabbed a 4-1 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. Jose Duran’s RBI single was followed by an RBI triple from Kyle Dhanani. A throwing error on the play allowed Dhanani to score.
LOST GEM: Efrain Nieves pitched 5-2/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits in his first start since July 13. He walked one and struck out five.
INSURANCE: Derrick McPhearson’s RBI single in the top of the ninth gave Wisconsin at 5-1 lead.
NOT SO FAST: The first four Cougars reached in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Nick Tyson. Tyson, who had relieved Nieves in the sixth inning, allowed a leadoff single and three straight walks. Liam Ohlmann relieved Tyson and let three runs in on a pair of sacrifice flies and an error.
OUCH: The Cougars loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth. A leadoff double, a sacrifice bunt, and two straight intentional walks put a Kane County runner on every base. Rigoberto Almonte relieved Ohlmann at this point and hit Conner Crumbliss with a 1-2 pitch to force in the winning run.
SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES: The Cougars have beaten the Timber Rattlers three times in extra innings – twice at Elfstrom Stadium. The Cougars have three “walk-off” wins against the Rattlers in Geneva this season.
RUN, BROCK, RUN: Rattlers right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard had a single, a double, a pair of walks, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Kjeldgaard has 12 steals this season.
ONE STREAK: The Rattlers have lost six straight games and are now a season low 15 games under the .500 mark.
ANOTHER STREAK: Wisconsin has lost their last nine games against the Cougars. The Timber Rattlers lost their final two games at Kane County in the first half of the season. The Cougars swept a four game series from the Rattlers at Time Warner Cable Field in early August. Kane County has won the first three game of this series.
A NEW ENTRY: The four run lead lost by the Rattlers yesterday was the largest lead they have lost in a game this season.
ONE MORE TIME: Yesterday was the third time on this road trip the Rattlers have been “walked off”. The Burlington Bees scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on August 26 on an error. The Cougars scored the winning in the bottom of the tenth inning on a dropped infield fly on August 28.
IT’S OFFICIAL: Yesterday’s loss officially knocked the Rattlers out of the playoff picture. Wisconsin trails Wild Card leading Burlington by eight games with seven games to play. This marks the fourth straight season in which the Rattlers have missed the Midwest League post season.
PLAYER MOVES: Nieves was placed on the temporarily inactive list in preparation for his participation for Puerto Rico in the World Cup. Pitcher Maverick Lasker has joined the Timber Rattlers roster from the Arizona League.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Kane County is in the Midwest League playoffs as the first half champions of the Midwest League’s Western Division. The Cougars won the first half with a record of 41-29, one game ahead of Cedar Rapids and Clinton. They are 31-32 in the second half to give them an overall record of 72-61. Kane County is coming into this series after winning three of four from the Beloit Snappers in a home series.
SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers are 6-12 against Kane County in 2009. Wisconsin is 3-7 against the Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .237 as a team. They have scored 525 runs (4.0/game) and hit 59 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .243 as a team. They have scored 571 runs (4.3/game) and hit 78 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.28 while allowing a total of 650 runs (4.9/game). Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 3.66 while allowing 563 runs (4.2/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 155 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 167 errors. Wisconsin is 20-44 on the road this season. Kane County is 39-27 at home this season.
KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: LHP Trey Barham was the 25th round pick of the Oakland Athletics in the 2008 MLB entry draft out of Virginia Military Institute. In 2008, he was 4-4 with a 3.46 ERA in 20 appearances (seven starts) for the Vancouver Canadians, Oakland’s affiliate in the Northwest League. Prior to this evening, Barham has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in 2009. He is 4-0 with a save and a 1.47ERA in 25 relief appearances since joining the Cougars in late May. In his appearance prior to tonight, Barham tossed 1-1/3 scoreless and hitless innings against the Rattlers at Elfstrom Stadium on August 28. This is Barham’s sixth appearance against the Timber Rattlers this season. He has no record and a save with a 2.25ERA. In 7-2/3 innings against Wisconsin, Barham has allowed two runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. His longest outing of 2009 was on June 16 against Cedar Rapids. In that game, Barham went 3-1/3 shutout innings without allowing a hit. He walked one Kernel and struck out five in that game.
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