Austin Pettibone retired the
last 18 batters he faced for the Wisconsin Woodchucks as he won his third
consecutive ballgame, leading the ‘Chucks to a 7-1 victory over the Green Bay
Bullfrogs.
After Woodchuck starter Austin Pettibone pitched a scoreless first inning, the
right hander ran into some bad luck in the second. The first two batters, Billy
Moon and Taylor Peterson both blooped singles in against Pettibone, neither
ball hit hard, to put the ‘Chucks in a jam. After a Jason McMurray sacrifice
bunt, Moon scored on an RBI groundout by Alex Abrams to give the ‘Frogs a 1-0
lead.
The Woodchucks would battle right back in the third, though, as they continued
their hot hitting from Tuesday night. The ‘Chucks scored three runs in the
inning on four singles. With Brooks Braga on third and Eric Filia-Snyder on
second after a stolen base, Brendon Hayden singled, scoring Braga and sending
Filia-Snyder to third. The next batter, Joe Serrano, grounded into a fielder's
choice, but the groundout scored Filia-Snyder, giving Serrano an RBI and the
‘Chucks a 2-1 lead. Serrano would later score on a single by Nate Irving,
putting the ‘Chucks on top 3-1.
After Pettibone pitched a 1-2-3 third inning, the ‘Chucks offense would record
their sixth multi-run inning of the two-game series in the fourth. After a
leadoff single by Bryant Munoz, Mike Bernal doubled off the wall in left,
scoring Munoz and ending starter Parker Schrage's night. After Braga reached on
an error, both runners would advance on a sacrifice bunt by Filia-Snyder. The
next batter, Hayden, flew out to center, scoring Bernal and giving Hayden his
second RBI of the game and team-leading 42nd of the season. A third run would
score in the inning when Serrano struck out swinging, but the ball got away
from the catcher Taylor Petersen. Petersen's throw to first went off of
Serrano's back for an throwing error, allowing Braga to score, and putting the ‘Chucks
on top 6-1.
After the run scored in the
second innings, Pettibone completely shut down the Bullfrogs. Pettibone went
seven innings, allowing only two singles, no walks, and recording nine
strikeouts, retiring the last 18 batters he faced. In his last three starts,
Pettibone is 3-0 with an ERA of 0.67.
The Woodchucks would tack
on one more run in the eighth, aided by the Bullfrog defense. Filia-Snyder
singled with two outs in the inning, stole second base, and went to third on a
throwing error by the pitcher David Armendariz. Filia-Snyder would later score
on an error by Dan Douglas as the ‘Frogs committed three errors in the inning
and allowed the ‘Chucks to extend the lead to 7-1.
Bex Trout came on in relief
of Pettibone in the eighth, pitched two scoreless innings in his Woodchuck
debut, and secured the 7-1 victory. It was the Woodchucks' ninth victory in the
last ten games as they completed the two-game sweep of the Bullfrogs. The
‘Chucks will be back in action tomorrow in Mequon to take on the Lakeshore
Chinooks at 6:35.
Courtesy: Wisconsin Woodchucks
