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Published On: June 24th, 2017

 

Rafters Take on Bombers to Attempt Series Sweep

Wisconsin Rapids takes on Battle Creek after a shutout win on Friday  

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. –  In the midst of a four game Michigan Road trip, Wisconsin Rapids (20-4) attempts to sweep Battle Creek (14-10) in a weekend series from C.O Brown Stadium on Saturday.

Starting off the series on Friday night with a shutout win, the Rafters picked up their 10th road win of the season behind Jesse Slingers (4-0) six and a third innings of shutout ball.

The offense backed up the strong start by Slinger with runs, starting in the fourth inning. Ryan Stekl drove a double to right field, setting up a Jake Guenther RBI single to give the Rafters a 1-0 lead.

With Slinger continuing to pitch a shutout, the Rafters added a run in the sixth on a Josh Rehwaldt RBI groundout. Backing up the pitching staff, the offense drove in two more runs in the eighth inning.

Nick Anderson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Bryson Stott reached on an error to put two on with nobody out. After a flyout advancing both runners up a base, Stekl notched a sacrifice fly to add another run on the board. Rehwaldt smacked an RBI single to give the Rafters a 4-0 lead that the bullpen of Alex Jackson and Layne Henderson preserved in the win.  

Looking for the series sweep, Wisconsin Rapids hands the ball to Jack Eagan (4-0), who is tied with his teammate Slinger for the most wins in the league this year. The lefty has started four games and holds an ERA of 1.17 in 23 innings. Eagan is seventh in the league with 29 strikeouts after eight in his last start against the Wisconsin Woodchucks. The lefty tossed six scoreless innings on June 18th to win his fourth game of the year.

Battle Creek sends out Christian Griffin (1-1) of West Alabama. The right-hander owns an ERA of 4.26 in three starts and one relief appearance. Griffin has pitched in 19 innings, striking out 18 while walking 16.

Leading the team in batting at a .392 average, Guenther’s mark is fourth-best in the league this year. The lefty bat has back-to-back games with three hits.  

First pitch at C.O Brown Stadium is slated for 6:05 pm CT. Coverage of the game can be found on WFHR 1320 AM or WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network. Pregame coverage begins at 5:50 pm.

 

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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit http://northwoodsleague.com/wisconsin-rapids-rafters/ or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.