Game 1 against the Panthers had the fans on pins and needles as neither team could ignite their offense in the low-scoring game. The Rattlers took an early lead in the 1st inning when Jeter Battles led off with a ground ball single to LF followed by a sac bunt from Javi Cuevas, a walk drawn by Caden Crofts, and then an RBI single on a fly ball off the LF fence from Isaiah Robledo. Reagan went scoreless until the top of the 5th inning. The Rattlers captured the momentum when Caleb Crider drew a walk and then took advantage of Panther errors, advancing to second on a wild pitch, advancing to third on an error, and scoring on a wild pitch, bringing the score to 2-0. With his good eye at the plate, Crider drew another walk in the 6th and scored off a line drive double to LF from “Big Mike” Michael Yzaguirre. The Rattlers were held to 4 hits in the game, with Crofts collecting the 4th Rattler hit when he squared up and hit a line drive double to RF in the top of the 7th that went unrewarded. Reagan collected 6 walks including 2 for Crofts, 3 for Crider, and 1 for Caden Roy.
The pitching on both sides thwarted most attempts at scoring or gaining momentum. Kaleb Rogers started on the bump for Reagan, throwing the gas and trying to hit the corners of the strike zone. Rogers settled in and struck out 2 batters in the 2nd and 3rd innings and 1 batter in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings for a total of 8. Rogers walked 5 and gave up 3 hits and 0 runs in 5.2 innings pitched. Cody Pictrowski came in for relief in the bottom of the 6th with 2 outs and a runner on first. Pictrowski pitched into a pop out in foul territory that was caught by Roy at first base in an amazing sprinting play toward the fence. Pictrowski teamed up with the Rattler defense to finish the Panthers in the 7th. “Pic” began the inning with a strikeout. The next batter hit a line out to Crofts in LF, who made a phenomenal diving catch. The final batter hit a line drive to Javi Cuevas at second base who seemed to suspend himself in space as he timed his jump perfectly to snag the ball to end the game. Pictrowski pitched 1.1 innings, striking out 1, walking 0 and allowing 0 hits or runs.
The Rattlers’ defense was flawless and came up with a huge play in the bottom of the 4th when a line drive single was hit to “Big Mike” in CF. The runner on second attempted to score on the hit but was thrown out on a pivotal play at home. The play was perfectly executed with Yzaguirre throwing to Roy at cutoff and then Elias Leon at catcher, energizing the Rattler stands.
The Rattlers face the Panthers for Game 2 TODAY at North East Sports Park @ 7pm. TICKETS HERE
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