BELOIT 鈥 The Beloit Sky Carp came up just short in their bid to win the Midwest League West Division, falling two games behind despite winning two of three this weekend over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at ABC Supply Stadium.
The Sky Carp had just finished a thrilling 12-11 come-from-behind victory Friday night when the Quad Cities River Bandits plated three runs in the top of the ninth inning to rally to defeat the Peoria Chiefs to clinch the title.
Saturday, the Carp played a complete game, defeating the Timber Rattlers 5-0 before falling 8-3 in the season finale.
The Sky Carp ended the season with a 39-27 record in the second half, two games behind the River Bandits. Their record for the entire season was 66-65, a solid mark considering they were well below .500 for the majority of the first half.
Friday鈥檚 game was a wild affair, with the Timber Rattlers scoring six runs in the first inning. The Sky Carp trailed 7-1 heading into the third frame when they began their rally.
Beloit scored three times in both the third and fourth innings to crawl to within 8-7. After the Rattlers plated a pair of runs in the seventh to increase their advantage to 10-7, the Carp rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning to lead for the first time.
The Rattlers tied it in the eighth before the Sky Carp walked it off on a wild pitch, with Wilson Weber scoring the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning.
Victor Ortega went 2-for-4 with four runs batted in to lead the offense. while Weber was 3-for-5 with a homer.
Michael Perez allowed a run in two innings to capture the victory out of the bullpen.
Saturday saw one of the Sky Carp鈥檚 finest pitching performances of the season. Southpaw Julio Mendez, just 21 years old, threw seven scoreless innings against the Rattlers, tying a career-high with 11 strikeouts along the way.
The game played out in unusual fashion, with the Sky Carp scoring all five of their runs in the fifth inning.
Brian Sanchez had the biggest blow, a two-run homer, while Esmil Valencia and Cam Clayton added run-scoring knocks to the cause as swell.
Sunday was a bullpen game for the Sky Carp as scheduled starting pitcher Carson Laws was unable to make the start.
Five pitchers combined to walk 10 Timber Rattlers. Wisconsin jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, while the Carp scored a run in the first and two more in the second to tie the game.
But the Rattlers staff held the Carp down the rest of the way, and the Wisconsin bats heated up, scoring five more times to pull away for the win in the final game of the season.
The Midwest League playoffs will pit South Bend and Quad Cities in the West Division and Great Lakes and Dayton in the East Division.
Both best-of-three series will begin Tuesday, with Quad Cities and Great Lakes hosting game one.