APPLETON (NBC 26) — First game of the championship series and last home game of the season — Timber Rattlers fans were eager to make room on football Sunday for some baseball.
- The Timber Rattlers have not won the championship since 2012 — the team won Game 1 of the best-of three series 5-4 Sunday
- Fans were excited to attend the last home game of the season
- The next game of the series is on Tuesday, Sept. 17
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for the web)
“It's like the Super Bowl here, or the World Series, that feeling of excitement and joy," Ida Krause, a fan at Sunday's game, said.
Krause is a season ticket holder who feels the Timber Rattlers' stadium is its own type of home base.
“They always make you feel at home here," she said. "From the mascots, to the players, they always go the extra mile to make somebody feel like they’re part of the family.”
The last home game of the season was also the first game in the Midwest Championship Series.
The Timber Rattlers faced off against the Lake County Captains out of Ohio.
The Timber Rattlers came to Sunday's game after an exciting win Thursday.
“Oh my gosh that was totally unreal, especially two runs down in the bottom of the ninth inning? Wow," Scott Krause, a Timber Rattlers fan who attended Thursday's game, said.
Even though the game fell late on a Sunday and on the same day as a Packers football game, the Timber Rattlers sold around 4,000 tickets.
Timber Rattlers president and CEO, Rob Zerjav said the typical playoff game only sells about 1000 tickets.
“It’s been an incredible year, the team is playing super well, and we just hope to keep it going and win two more games," Zerjav said pregame — and now, it's one more game.
Game two of the series is on Tuesday, Sept. 17 in Eastlake, Ohio.
