Grand Chute, WI – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers closed their home schedule with a 5-3 victory over the Lake County Captains on Wednesday afternoon, highlighted by standout performances from two of the team’s newest players.
First‑round pick Brady Ebel, selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025, recorded his first hit as a Rattler and drove in the tying run in the sixth inning. Ebel, who debuted the previous day with four walks in four plate appearances, singled to left field to bring Juan Baez home, erasing a two‑run deficit.
Milwaukee’s second‑round selection in the 2026 draft, Sawyer Strosnider, added a pair of RBIs, including a go‑ahead home run in the seventh inning. The blast, his first as a professional, was caught by his father, Scott Strosnider, adding a personal family touch to the moment.
The game began with the Captains taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the sixth. Starting pitcher Josh Knoth walked the leadoff batter, and reliever Chandler Welch allowed a single and a bunt single before issuing a walk that forced in the first run. Tommy Hawke’s two‑out single extended the lead to 2-0.
The Rattlers answered in the bottom of the sixth. Juan Baez drew a walk with two outs, and Luiyin Alastre reached on a hit. Blayberg Diaz singled to left, scoring Alastre, and Ebel’s single brought Baez home, tying the game.
In the seventh, Strosnider and teammate Eric Bitonti hit back‑to‑back home runs, marking the fifth time Wisconsin has recorded consecutive homers in a game. Strosnider’s shot came on a 1‑0 pitch over the right‑center wall, while Bitonti’s blast on a 2‑0 pitch cleared the right‑field porch, his twentieth of the season, making him the second Rattler to reach both twenty home runs and twenty stolen bases in a single season.
Lake County loaded the bases in the top of the eighth against reliever Bjorn Johnson, but the Rattlers limited the damage to a single run. Johnson secured the final out with a fly ball to left field.
Wisconsin’s Daniel Dickinson sparked a rally in the bottom of the eighth with a single and two stolen bases, reaching third with no outs. Strosnider’s double down the first‑base line drove Dickinson home, giving the Rattlers a 5-3 lead they would hold.
José Meneses closed the game in the ninth, recording a 1‑2‑3 inning for his first save as a Rattler.
The series continues Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field, with Ethan Dorchies slated to start for Wisconsin and Harrison Bodendorf for Lake County. Game time is set for 6:40 p.m.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
