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Rafters Reel In The Kingfish
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.- A day after the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (13-26, 1-3) struggled in clutch situations, the offense broke out in a big way in a 14-5 win over the Kenosha Kingfish (19-17, 3-1). Both teams banged out 15 hits but it was the Rafters who made the most of their chances to clinch their first win of the second half.
The Kingfish opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd on a Taylor Douglas (Tennessee-Martin) RBI single. However the Rafters would respond in a big way from an unlikely source. In the home half of the inning, Michael Hurwitz (Illinois) launched his first home run of the season to deadlock the score.
Again the Kingfish would jump out to a one run lead in the 5th but the Rafters had an answer to bury Kenosha for the rest of the game. Wisconsin Rapids would send 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the inning and score seven runs on five hits. In order to get through the frame, Kenosha would have to use four separate pitchers. Five Rafters would get RBIs in the inning highlighted by a Woody Woodward (UC Santa Barbara) squeeze and a bases loaded clearing double off of the bat of shortstop Zack Domingues (Long Beach State).
The Rafters would score in the last four innings where they took to the bat rack and although Kenosha chipped away at the lead, the deficit was insurmountable. Wisconsin Rapids received another strong outing from a starting pitcher, with Nick Blackburn (Illinois) the man in the spotlight Saturday. With 1,906 raucous fans in the house, Blackburn went six innings, while scattering 7 hits and surrendering 2 earned runs to go along with 4 strikeouts.
Wisconsin Rapids continues the home stand tomorrow evening when the Thunder Bay Border Cats make their first ever appearance in historic Witter Field. First pitch is slated for 5:05 pm. Following the game, Bull’s Eye Credit Union will present the Human Cannonball David “The Bullet” Smith.
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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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