(Pictured: Jacson McGowan, 3B at Purdue University. Photo courtesy of Purdue Baseball).

The Rafters Team Report will be your weekly update on the Spring season's of your 2016 Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. Be sure to check back each week for a new update.

March 14 – March 20: Conference Play Begins In Earnest For Majority of Future Rafters

By: Cooper Perkins

This past week marked either the conclusion of non-conference play or the advent of league action for virtually every college program around the country. As the collegiate season is nearly one-third complete, Rafters across the nation used the most recent week to further define the trajectories of both their team and individual seasons.

In their Pac-12 Conference opening series, the Washington Huskies played host to the potent Arizona Wildcats for a three-game series and quieted the ‘Cats long enough to steal the first two games before dropping Sunday’s finale. In a hotly contested 3-3 deadlock on Friday night, catcher Joey Morgan delivered his first home run of the year, sending a two-out blast beyond the confines of Husky Ballpark for what would eventually amount to a game-winning three-run homer. Thanks to Morgan’s timely power surge, the Dawgs snapped Arizona’s seven-game winning streak and went on to take two of three from their visitors. Across the trio of contests, Morgan racked up three hits, a walk, a pair of runs scored, and three RBI. In 2016 the Johnny Bench Award Watch List member is hitting a robust .317 with a home run and eight runs batted in.

Before commencing WAC play, the conference pre-season favorite Grand Canyon Lopes endured a brutal week, including two losses at home to New Mexico and a three-game road sweep at the hands of #19 Houston. While the results deviated from their expectations, returning Rafter Ethan Evanko and teammate Jake Repavich each performed admirably. In the second half of Saturday’s double header, Evanko limited the Cougars to just three runs over 5.1 innings, but received the loss as his teammates managed just a single hit in the outing. Across five starts, Evanko now owns a 2-2 record and a 5.16 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 22.2 innings of work. Not to be outdone, Repavich lasted slightly longer than his current and future teammate as he finished Sunday with 5.2 innings in the books, while being saddled with a tough-luck loss despite limiting the Cougars to just three runs. With conference play now set to begin, Repavich, sits with a 2-1 record and a staff-leading 1.65 ERA through five starts.

On a road trip to Northern California, Division II Dixie State squared off against Holy Names for a four-game PacWest Conference showdown. In the process of winning in triplicate, the Storm sent Dylan File to the hill in the back half of Friday’s double dip and received a dazzling effort from the sophomore right-hander. In perhaps his best outing of the season, File breezed through seven shutout innings on just 77 pitches and scattered three hits, while racking up a season-high nine strikeouts. The win brought File’s record to 3-0 as he couples it with a 2.00 ERA and 41 strikeouts compared to just 12 walks in 45 innings of work.

NAIA Sterling College, well into their conference slate, continued its packed schedule with a pair of double headers in which they compiled a 3-1 record and ran their overall mark to 22-7. Making just one appearance in relief, returning Rafter John Jaeger took the mound in Sterling’s 10-7 win over Baker on Tuesday. The right-hander fired a scoreless inning, allowing just a base hit and collecting a strikeout. Across eight appearances, including five starts, Jaeger has built a 4-1 record and a 4.56 ERA while striking out 25 batters in 23.2 innings on the rubber.

To the south, right-handed reliever Chris Cooper and Texas A&M Corpus Christi cruised through a daunting slate as they swept Tuesday’s double header on the road against UTRGV before taking two of three at home from Nicholls during the weekend. Cooper, a redshirt sophomore, continued his breakout season by slinging four innings and striking out three, while allowing just five hits and a walk in the back half of Tuesday’s double dip in route to earning the win. The victory was the first of Cooper’s career and his four innings of work matched his career-high. In seven outings, including a pair of starts, Cooper now owns a 1-1 record coupled with a save, 12 strikeouts, and a 2.00 ERA in 18 innings of labor.

Just a week in advance of opening Horizon Conference play, UW-Milwaukee traveled to Illinois State to conclude their non-conference slate with a three-game series against the Redbirds. Much to the delight of Panther fans back in Milwaukee, the visitors secured a clean sweep, including a stellar performance from Rafter signee Jay Peters in the Saturday edition. The right-hand throwing Peters continued his strong campaign by delivering his third quality start in his last four outings. The former junior college star fired six innings of three-run ball while scattering six hits and piling up three strikeouts. Despite being relegated to a no-decision, Peters now owns a 3.07 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 29.1 innings

In their home state but away from West Lafayette, true freshman third baseman Jacson McGowan and the Purdue Boilermakers engaged in a three-game series with the Ohio Bobcats in Kokomo, Indiana. For the second consecutive weekend, the Boilermakers dropped two of three, but were pleased to come out on top of a 15-inning marathon on Saturday. McGowan, batting in the cleanup spot, enjoyed a productive series and finished three-for-ten on the weekend, highlighted by a two-hit night on Friday. Having started all 16 games for Purdue, McGowan is stroking the ball at a .246 clip with five runs batted in and five runs scored.

Cincinnati was the site for Xavier’s banner weekend as Garrett Schilling and Damien Richard, the most recent additions to the Rafters, helped the Musketeers to a perfect 4-0 home record in the wake dropping Tuesday’s road game at highly touted Louisville. Both players enjoyed comfortable weekends as Schilling picked up his third save of the season on Saturday against Central Michigan by throwing a scoreless ninth inning and lowering his ERA to 2.31 in 11.2 innings. Schilling’s fellow sophomore, Richard, offered an excellent week-long showing as he appeared twice and surrendered just a single run in seven innings of work, striking out seven, and scattering six hits and a walk. Following Sunday’s performance in which he earned his first win of the campaign, Richard is now 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 19 innings of work.

In a weeknight date with local adversary Edwardsville, returning Rafter outfielder Dustin Woodcock and the SUIE Cougars celebrated their foremost entrance into the win column with an 11-10 victory. Woodcock paced the offensive explosion as he recorded a three-for-five evening, including a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and a run batted in. Once the weekend arrived, Woodcock and SIU-Edwardsville offered a follow-up act that saw them swipe one of three in a conference road matchup with Kentucky-based Murray State. Across the four contests, Woodcock piled up six hits, two walks, a trio of runs scored, and his second stolen base of the season. After enjoying a fruitful weekend, the 2015 Freshman All-American now boasts a .310 batting average and six doubles in 15 games.

Across the state in Highland Heights, the Valparaiso Crusaders concluded their season-opening 18-game road trip with a three-game series against Northern Kentucky. Looking forward to finally returning home, Valpo tore through their opponents in the process of earning a weekend sweep that culminated in a 16-1 route on Sunday. After a quiet Friday that saw him go hitless, freshman catcher Scott Kapers rebounded to go four-for-seven over the final two games with a walk, a run scoured, and four runs batted in. With the hot streak, Kapers elevated his season batting average to .255 and lifted his runs batted in total to nine as he begins to find a consistent rhythm at the plate. Fellow Rafter signee Montana Quigley did not see the field in any of the three weekend affairs for the Crusaders as the freshman pitcher watched his ERA hold steady at 6.00 in six innings of work.

Just as Kapers and Quigley wrapped up their interminably long stretch of road games to open the season, Josh Shepley and Jake Lumley traveled to Philadelphia with their Canisius squad for the Big 5 Baseball Bash and their final three road contests before returning to New York for their home opener. After a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss to La Salle on Friday afternoon, the Griffins rebounded to sweep a pair of one-run games against St. Joseph’s and head back to Buffalo two wins richer. Shepley toed the rubber in Friday’s loss as he cruised through four innings before running into trouble in the fifth inning. Shepley was saddled with the loss after completing 4.2 innings on the hill and surrendering four funs on six hits and four walks, while tallying five strikeouts. The right-hander’s season record now sits at 1-3 in five starts as he’s worked 25.1 innings and struck out 22 opponents compared to just 10 walks. Following his offensive breakout just a week ago, Jake Lumley continued his torrid stretch through the Big 5 Baseball Bash as he reached base six times in the three games, including a pair of singles, a double, and three walks. The junior infielder also scored twice and drove in two runs. In his 18 games of action, Lumley’s average now sits at .263 as he has also collected six RBI, scored nine runs, and walked twice as much as he has struck out.

Despite a quiet week from future Rafters Jon Meola and Doak Dozier, the Virginia Cavaliers rolled to a 4-1 record, including a conference-opening series win over Wake Forest. In Tuesday’s matchup with Towson, Dozier earned the start in right field and managed a one-for-four outing, bringing his batting average to .263 in addition a home run, four runs batted in, and six runs scored. Meola, who did not see action against Towson or Wake Forest, has seen limited time in his first collegiate season as he has appeared just three times and remains hitless in five plate appearances.

In the deep south, Alabama State welcomed a trio of foes to Montgomery for five total games, including their first conference series of 2016. Following back-to-back losses to Samford and Florida A&M, the reigning divisional champions busted out the bats to sweep Mississippi Valley State and outscore their SWAC adversaries by an astonishing 41-5 aggregate over three games. Outfielder Joseph Estrada contributed in a limited capacity as he came on as a pinch runner in Wednesday’s loss to Florida A&M and scored a run in two at-bats on Saturday against Mississippi Valley State.

Further to the southeast in Florida, the week proved to be a quiet one for Demetrius Sims as the Bethune-Cookman shortstop was limited to three hits in five games after moving out of the leadoff slot. The returning Rafter saw his success peak in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to North Carolina Central as the athletic infielder notched a two-for-four afternoon and scored a run, finishing as the only Wildcat with multiple hits. As one of just three players to start all 20 contests for Bethune-Cookman, Sims is swinging the bat at a .211 rate with five runs batted in and a team-leading 15 runs scored.

The home opener for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters is June 1st at 7:05 against the Green Bay Bullfrogs. Solarus Founders Club, bleacher 9-Game ticket packages, and group outing packages are on sale now. Call 715-424-5400 or stop by the Rafters Front Office Monday-Friday from 9-5 to purchase a ticket package or book a group outing.

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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 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016, 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 140 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 (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com.