Green Bay continues three-game road trip Saturday at Kenosha
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.- The Green Bay Rockers could not put together enough of a late rally against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters Friday night, losing 5-3 on the road at Witter Field and dropping both games of the second two-game series of the season between the two teams.
Despite two hits each from Cooper Kelly (Kansas) and Max Mims (Southwestern University) and a late two-run homer from Mateo Matthews (Wagner), the Rockers were not able to come back from a 3-0 deficit early in the contest, after the Rafters scored all three of their five runs in the first four innings of offense.
After the Rockers went scoreless in the first inning, Dylan Langston (Lesley University) pitched a 1-2-3 first inning himself for Green Bay, keeping the score knotted at zeros apiece heading into the second.
The second inning started off strong for Green Bay with a one-out single from Jayson Jones (Arkansas) in his first at-bat as a Rocker, but despite a stolen base from Jones, he would be left on base as it remained a 0-0 game through an inning and a half of play.
The Rafters then struck first in the bottom of the second courtesy of a two-run homer from Jack Gurevitch (San Diego), giving Wisconsin Rapids a 2-0 lead entering the third inning at Witter Field.
Micah Berens (Incarnate Word) threw a scoreless third inning to keep the Rafters off the board in the frame, as Green Bay looked to get their first runs of the game entering the fourth still trailing 2-0.
Following a scoreless fourth inning for the Rockers offense, Wisconsin Rapids tacked on their third run on an RBI double from Ty Johnson (McClennan Community College) extending their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the frame.
However, back-to-back strikeouts from Kyle Stoddard (Missouri Southern State) kept the Rafters further off the board, as they stranded the bases loaded with the Rafters lead still at 3-0 through four innings of play.
Stoddard continued to cruise along in the fifth and sixth innings on the mound, retiring all six batters he faced in those two frames, which kept the Rockers in it heading into the seventh still down by only three runs.
Green Bay broke through in the seventh after a wild pitch scored Mims from third, cutting the Rockers deficit to just two at 3-1 entering the bottom of the frame.
Stoddard pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh to put more pressure on the Rafters offense, as he finished with 4.1 innings pitched with five strikeouts and only one walk allowed, while giving up just three hits.
The Rafters tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles from Brandon Rogers (Iowa Western Community College) and Anthony Galason (Coastal Carolina), extending their lead to 5-1 going into the ninth, with the Rockers in search of a late rally.
Green Bay started the ninth inning strong as a pinch hit two-run homer from Matthews cut the Rafters lead in half to 5-3 with no outs recorded.
However, the Rafters did not let Green Bay cut the lead any closer, as they held on for a 5-3 victory Friday night at Witter Field.
The Rockers now look to a two-game road series with the Kenosha Kingfish starting Saturday night. First pitch from Simmons Field is set for 6:35 p.m.
Single game tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office and Team Apparel Fan Shop at Capital Credit Union Park are located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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The Green Bay Rockers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 29th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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, over 300 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
