Madison Scores Five In The First and Pulls Away Late

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters surrendered five runs in the first inning to the Madison Mallards on Sunday evening, eventually falling to their rivals from the south, 11-2. With the win, the Mallards improved to 5-0, while the loss drops the Rafters to 2-3.
Madison’s Josh Pierce picked up the win in his Northwoods League debut in relief, while John Jaeger (Pacific) took the loss for Wisconsin Rapids. A bright spot for the Rafters was Jake Sandlin (Georgia College), who continued to stay hot with the bat, going 2-for-5 with a double. Jack Riley (Connecticut) pitched well in relief, tossing four innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out five.

The Mallards came out swinging hot bats, batting through the lineup and putting up a five-spot in the first inning. Madison tallied four hits in the inning, including a pair of RBI doubles to take the early lead.

A quintet of Mallard pitchers kept the Rafter hitters off balance, scattering six Wisconsin Rapids hits. The Rafters loaded the bases in the second inning and had a pair of runners on in the third, but couldn’t find a way to cross the plate.
After the Mallards added a run in the fourth, the teams traded runs in the sixth and seventh. Madison, however, chipped in runs in the eighth and ninth to pull away.

Wisconsin Rapids will open the month of June with a quick, one day road trip to Green Bay for a game on Monday, June 1, before welcoming the Bullfrogs to Wisconsin Rapids on Tuesday.

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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 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com.