The Rattlers met up with their friends from the Winter Drifters on Saturday night at the Sports Center Arena. The pre-game temperature outside was a bitter 4 degrees F.
This was the second meeting of the winter between these two squads. The Drifters took the first game by a score of 9-2.
The Rattlers had a tough time bringing in runs on this night as innings stalled with runners on. By the end of the 6th inning, they were down 8-0.
A 4-run 7th inning brought the Rattlers within striking distance, but they were unable to add more in the final few innings despite getting runners on base. The final score on the night would be 9-4, Drifters.
The only home runs came from Batista Wood, who blasted a 3-run dinger, and Dylan Bertollini, who notched a solo home run for the Drifters.
Highlights for the Rattlers included:
Good catch by Dan Capp in the outfield.
Nice put-outs by Thelen, Rumpel, Capece and Cochran from the middle infield positions.
Multiple plays by Thelen from Center Field.
An exciting double by Matthews.
Solid hitting by Evan Rumpel (5), Sean Bombard (4), Lucas Thelen (4), and Kenton Cochran (4).
Other hits came from Capp (2), Capece (2), Matthews (2), Gunnip (2), and Pearce (2).
Lineup:
Lucas Thelen
Daniel Capp
KJ Cochran
Nicholas Capece
Ethan Matthews
Jadien Gunnip
Sean Bombard
Evan Rumpel
Connor Pearce
Missing: Jacob Sadowski
Team MVP for the Rattlers was Sean Bombard. He went 4/5 at the plate, which included a score and RBI, and made some nice plays from right field.
Team quote: “Sports competitions do not build character, they reveal it.”