Malmin’s Excellent Outing Not Enough
Mequon, Wis-It was a tight game at Kapco Park as the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (2-9) dropped their seventh in a row in a 2-1 walk-off win for the Lakeshore Chinooks (8-3). A night after the Rafters used six pitchers (one being a backup first baseman) lefty Jon Malmin (Texas) took the hill and put on a show.
Malmin and Chinooks starter Travis Hissong (Wright State) went toe to toe as each starter was excellent over six innings. The Texas southpaw relied more on his defense as Malmin only recorded four strikeouts while HIssong used his dominant combination of a fastball and tight slider to strike out 9 in six innings.
The Rafters struck first when Michael Hurwitz (Illinois) and Kirby McGuire (New Mexico) combined to put together a two out rally. Hurwitz singled and McGuire followed with a triple to deep right center to put the Rafters up 1-0. Lakeshore would get the run back in the bottom half of the inning in a strange sequence. Mitch Gelfi (UW-Milwaukee) originally thought he was hit by a Malmin pitch. After the umpires came together, they decided that Gelfi had sold it and was returned to home plate to continue the at-bat. The very next pitch was blasted into left field for a solo home run and a tied ballgame.
It would remain tied as the game went into the bottom of the ninth. After the league leader in batting average Ryan Krill (Michigan State) was walked to lead off the inning, pinch runner Tanner Dearman (Wichita State) was sacrificed over to second. Dearman would advance to third when Aaron Huesman (Dayton) stepped in. All it would take to win would be a mere single, but Huesman would crush a pitch off of the left field fence to give Lakeshore the walk- off win.
The two teams will finish up the series tomorrow at 6:35 pm CST.
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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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