Rafters Drop Game After Comeback
Battle Creek, Mich.-The first matchup of the year between the Battle Creek bombers (2-5) and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (2-5) didn’t lack for drama as the extra inning game ended in a 5-4 Battle Creek victory. In a game that had it’s first pitch delayed by an hour, the two teams battled deep into the night as the Rafters made a furious rally in the game to come back. After recently dropping a couple tough games, both teams were hungry for a victory and a chance to right the ship early in the schedule.
The Bombers jumped out to an early lead on a Sam Koenig (Milwaukee) RBI double in the bottom of the first. Then the fireworks began. Matt Dacey (Richmond) would golf out a solo home run in the bottom of the third. Two innings later in the 5th, Justin Stawychny (Louisana Monroe) clubbed a massive two run home run for the fourth runs scored against Rafters’ starter Jake Johansmeier (Eastern Illinois).
With Battle Creek starter Jacob Waguespack cruising through five, it looked like the Bombers would easily claim their second victory of the season. That’s when the Rafters took advantage of Battle Creek’s bullpen and sloppy defense. Wisconsin Rapids sent 8 men to the plate in the top of the 6th, scoring three and benefitting from two Bombers’ errors.
As the game headed to the 9th, Battle Creek sent out reliever Josh Leone to protect a one- run lead against the top third of the Rafters lineup. He made quick work of Michael Hurwitz (Illinois), and Patrick Ervin (North Florida). However, on the first pitch thrown to Erik Payne (Virginia Tech) the third baseman blasted a game tying, solo home run.
Both teams squandered opportunities from the bottom of the ninth until the bottom of the 11th. Henri Lartigue (Ole Miss) led off the inning with a single. He was eventually sacrificed to second by Sebastian Diaz. Lartigue would come around to score as Erik Payne committed a throwing error from the shortstop position (having moved there after a Patrick Ervin shoulder injury) allowing the Bombers to win their first home game of the year.
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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com.
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