Phillips turns screws on Q-C rally

The toughest call Kyle Phillips had to make Wednesday night came after his two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the Swing of the Quad-Cities to a 6-5 win over Wisconsin.

"I’m not sure which was bigger, throwing two guys out stealing or hitting that homer. They both helped," Phillips said. "From a catching standpoint, throwing two guys out takes away runs and can prevent a big inning. Especially in an inning with zero or one out, that’s big."

Then again, so was the homer that Phillips belted to right field to finish off a nine-pitch at-bat against Timber Rattlers reliever Juan Ovalles.

Phillips fouled off six pitches, and the count stood at 1-2 before the Quad-City catcher deposited a slider down and in over the John O’Donnell Stadium fence.

"I just kept saying there was no way he was going to strike me out. I wasn’t going down without a fight," Phillips said.

"The lefty that threw early (Wisconsin starter Ryan Feierabend) had us off balance, but I just tried to stay confident, and I did what I could to see the ball and keep the at-bat alive."

Ovalles picked up two quick strikes before throwing a ball. Phillips then fouled off five straight pitches before following an infield single by Omar Burgos with his game-winning hit.

"The great thing about that at-bat was that it was exactly what we want our guys to do in that situation," Swing manager Kevin Boles said. "We’re looking for productive at-bats and tough outs, something that really makes the pitcher have to work, and Kyle did just that and took advantage of the pitch he was looking to hit."

The effort finished off a rally that began after Quad-Cities spotted Wisconsin a 5-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Ten Timber Rattlers batted and four collected hits, but the Swing used a two-run triple by Burgos in the bottom half of the inning to remain within a 5-3 score.

Phillips kept things that way in the eighth, when he threw out his second runner attempting to steal, allowing J.R. Taylor’s tag to retire Michael Cox for the first out of the inning.

"J.R. made a good pickup and got the out. Those things all help," Phillips said. "It’s something I’ve been working on."

Wisconsin didn’t go quietly. The only time the Swing retired the Timber Rattlers in order came in the ninth, when Levale Speigner struck out the side to secure his second win of the season.

"That was impressive," Phillips said. "He came in and finished them off. We needed this one. I needed this one. I was something like 0-for-26 in our first homestand, and my confidence took a pretty good shot. I’m trying to get things going again, and this was a step in that direction."