Green Bay returns home to begin four-game homestand Thursday night
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.- In the second game of a scheduled doubleheader, the Green Bay Rockers fell to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 10-9 at Witter Field after losing the first game 3-1 in six innings.
Despite Green Bay nearly tying the game up in the ninth inning, the Rockers now head back to Capital Credit Union Park to take on the Madison Mallards Thursday night, in what will be the first of a four-game homestand after the Rockers played their previous four games on the road.
Christian Foutch (Arkansas) threw a scoreless bottom of the first to start off the night, with his 1-2-3 first inning keeping the Rafters off the board through one inning of play, as the game remained scoreless heading into the second.
An RBI infield single from Luke Hanson (Virginia) put the Rafters on top first in the bottom of the second inning, but another Foutch strikeout kept it at just a 1-0 deficit for Green Bay through two innings at Witter Field.
Following a bottom of the third in which Foutch threw his second scoreless frame to keep it a 1-0 ballgame through three innings, the Rockers erupted for three runs in the top of the fourth on a two-RBI single from AJ Anzai (Chapman) and a wild pitch scoring Jack Holman (UCLA) from third. This gave Green Bay their first lead of the night at 3-1 entering the bottom of the fourth.
The Rafters however responded with five runs off RBIs from Alex Duffey (Elon) and Brendan Bobo (Cal State Fullerton) while two wild pitches brought home the last two runs of the inning to hand Wisconsin Rapids a 6-3 lead going into the fifth inning.
Following another Rafter coming across to score in the fifth on a Green Bay error, two RBI base hits pushed the Rafters lead to 10-3 in the sixth, but Anzai pitched a scoreless seventh inning to keep it a 10-3 ballgame as the second contest of the doubleheader approached the eighth inning in Wisconsin Rapids.
The Rockers cut the lead to 10-6 in the eighth on a two-RBI single from Mateo Matthews (Wagner College) and an RBI sacrifice fly from Zane Zielinski (Illinois-Chicago), as the three-run inning inched the Rockers closer down by just four runs.
After another scoreless frame from Anzai in the bottom of the eighth, Jones scored home from third on a wild pitch to lead off the ninth, while a two-RBI double from Matthews made it a one-run ballgame with still time to complete the ninth inning rally.
However, back-to-back strikeouts ended the game and sealed the deal for Wisconsin Rapids, as they swept the two-game doubleheader Wednesday at Witter Field.
Green Bay will return home and begin a four-game homestand Thursday night against the Madison Mallards, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. at Capital Credit Union Park.
The pregame concert performed by the New Dueling Pianos will begin at 5:30 p.m. which is the same time gates open. It is also Thirty Thursday at the ballpark with there being $4 24 oz. tap beers through the fifth inning.
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. Now in its’ 30th 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 325 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.