Wisconsin Rapids picked up its second and third consecutive wins with 7-6 and 4-3 victories over Battle Creek.

Wis. Rapids – Wisconsin Rapids is now on a three-game winning streak after defeating the Battle Creek Bombers in a pair of seven inning games on Friday night. The Rafters picked up the win in game one in walk-off fashion, 7-6, overcoming a four-run deficit to win on an infield single by Zack Domingues, scoring Jonah Bride. Game two saw the Rafters get out to a 3-0 lead before the Bombers attempted comeback came up short and Wisconsin Rapids squeaked out a 4-3 victory.

Demetrius Sims led the Rafters at the plate, going 5-for-6 on the night, but reached base in all seven at-bats. Sims also scored a pair of runs, knocked in an RBI, stole a base and reached on a walk.

The wins moved the Rafters to 9-7 on the season and jumping Wisconsin Rapids into second place in the Northwoods League South Division, 3.5 games behind the Kenosha Kingfish. The losses drop Battle Creek to 7-10.

Game one started with the Bombers taking the early lead, breaking a 1-1 tie in the third by batting around and hitting a couple of two-run home runs. Dan Swain hit the first one to left center, followed two batters later by a Charlie Madden bomb. The Rafters rallied for a four run inning of their own in the fourth behind hits by Ryan Cleveland (Georgia Southern) and Casey Danley (Illinois Central). Cleveland led off the inning with a long ball, then Danley laced a double to the right field gap, scoring a pair of Rafters on the hit.

After the teams traded runs in the fifth, Craig Pearcy pitched shutout innings in the sixth and seventh, setting up the Rafters for a chance to walk-off. Wisconsin Rapids loaded the bases with a couple singles and a walk, then Zack Domingues hit a dribbler down the first baseline for a walk-off infield single. Pearcy picked up his first win of the summer and has now tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in a Wisconsin Rapids uniform.

The Rafters carried their momentum into game two, scoring a run in the second and a pair of runs in the third to take an early 3-0 lead. Zach Kolodziejski (Niagara) had a perfect start for Wisconsin Rapids in game two, retiring all nine hitter he saw in three innings.

The Bombers threatened in in the fifth inning with their first four hitters reaching , scoring a run and loading the bases with no outs. Rafters relief pitcher John Jaeger (Pacific) struck out the next Battle Creek hitter, tagged out  the runner from third coming home for out number two, then struck out the hitter at the plate to preserve the Rafter lead, 3-1.

Mitch McGeein provided an insurance run with a bomb to deep left center, pushing the lead to 4-1.

In the top of the seventh, Battle Creek again put up a fight. The first three Bombers reached, with two coming around to score on wild pitches. Brian Bass (Faulkner), however, was able to induce three straight ground outs to strand the game-tying run at third, recording his first save as a Rafter. Jaeger picked up the win to improve to 1-1 on the season, throwing three innings and allowing three runs on five hits. The righty from Tracy, Calif. struck out seven and walked just one.

The Rafters will hit the road for the next four games, starting with a pair of games over the weekend in Kalamazoo against the Growlers. The Rafters return to Witter Field on Wednesday, June 17 against the Kenosha Kingfish.

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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.