(Pictured: Jake Lumley, IF-Canisius University, photo courtesy Canisius Athletics)

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 7 – March 13: Mother Nature Reeks Havoc on Schedule Across Country

By Cooper Perkins

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – Inclement weather proved to be a theme nation-wide this past week as a smattering of future Rafters saw their schedules twisted by the designs of Mother Nature. While most affected weekend slates were reconfigured to cram a full series of games into a reduced window of time, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and right-handed pitcher Chris Cooper saw their schedule virtually wiped clean. With the Islanders scheduled to host the UTSA Roadrunners for a Tuesday night date before welcoming Louisiana Tech to town for a three-game weekend bout, Cooper and company were forced to look on as their plans dissolved to a mere memory. Following a disappointing loss to UTSA that was Cooper’s most difficult outing to date, the Islanders were robbed of the opportunity to break into the win column as the entirety of their weekend series was cancelled. Despite being saddled with his first loss of the year on Tuesday, the redshirt sophomore still possesses a sharp 1.93 ERA in 14 innings of work and has proven to be a staple out of the bullpen.

After dropping two of three to the same Louisiana Tech team the weekend prior, Valparaiso was poised to continue their highly demanding schedule of 13 road games in 15 days. Set to take the field in Louisiana for a Tuesday night affair with Grambling State, the local weather had other ideas as the game was eventually cancelled in response to unplayable conditions. Following the unexpected off-day, the Crusaders continued their season-opening tour with a stop in Dallas for a four-game series against nationally renowned Dallas Baptist. In the process of dropping three of four to their hosts, Valparaiso freshmen Montana Quigley and Scott Kapers each took the field in stellar performances. Ten days after earning his first collegiate start, Quigley fired a scoreless inning on Saturday while picking up a strikeout as well. Kapers, a true freshman catcher, appeared in three games and started twice as he piled up four hits and four RBI in just eight at-bats. The highly recruited backstop highlighted the weekend by reaching base twice on both Wednesday and Friday, driving in a pair in each outing. Scott is now swinging the bat at a .233 clip with five RBI and a four-game hitting streak.

In the Pacific Northwest where rain is an expectation, Johnny Bench Award watch list catcher Joey Morgan and the Washington Huskies played host to Pacific University for a weekend series. With imposing conditions on the horizon for Sunday, the teams opted for a Saturday double-dip and sought to complete their three-game set before the weather could take hold. The result proved favorable for the home squad as the Huskies took two of three, narrowly missing a sweep by dropping a ten-inning decision in the finale. Across the weekend’s action, Morgan made appearances in all three contests, starting both Washington victories. The true sophomore drove in two runs, scored once, and reached base safely all three games, recording a pair of hits on Friday and a pinch-hit single in the second of the two Saturday contests. Through the first 13 games of the season, Morgan owns a .313 batting average, five RBI, and four runs scored.

A few states to the southwest in Arizona, Grand Canyon continued their hot start to 2016 as the pre-season favorites in the Western Athletic Conference took two of three from the visiting Cal Poly Mustangs. Pacing the Lopes was a duo of future Rafters, as starting pitchers Ethan Evanko and Jake Repavich each lifted their squad to victory. Toeing the rubber on Saturday evening, Evanko had his strikeout pitch working as he fanned an impressive nine Mustangs in five innings of work, scattering a pair of runs, and earning his second win of the season. Less than twenty-four hours later, left-hander Jake Repavich took the hill for the weekend finale and stifled the Cal Poly lineup. While Repavich was relegated to a no-decision, he scattered just four hits over seven scoreless innings, marking his third scoreless outing in four starts. Repavich owns an unblemished 2-0 record, along with a remarkable 1.00 ERA and 14 punch outs in 27 innings on the mound.

The state of Kansas offered an unlikely setting for a trio of future Rafters this past week as NAIA Sterling College, UW Milwaukee, and Purdue all ventured to the Sunflower State. A five-game week saw returning Rafter Jon Jaeger and Sterling College come away with three wins as they hosted Central Christian University for a single game and then traveled to Friends University for back-to-back double headers. In Jaeger’s only appearance of the week, the right-hander was saddled with his first loss of the season, dropping his overall record to 4-1. With defensive shortcomings behind Jaeger becoming a pattern, the right-hander surrendered five runs in two innings, despite only three having been earned.

Down the road in Manhattan, UW Milwaukee visited the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big-12 Conference for a three-game weekend series. Looking to respond from his first loss of the season last week, Jay Peters came up short on Saturday against K-State, taking his second loss in as many weeks despite an excellent showing. Like his future teammate, Jaeger, Peters was a casualty of defensive lapses, leading to a pair of unearned runs. Upon exiting the game, Peters had pitched 6.1 innings while allowing three total runs and striking out five Wildcats. Through four starts, Peters is now 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 23.1 innings of labor.

At the Millard Management Classic in Lawrence, true freshman third baseman Jacson McGowan and the Purdue Boilermakers met a trio of foes throughout the weekend. With McGowan in the cleanup slot, Purdue came away with a shutout victory over North Dakota on Saturday, bookended by a Friday loss to St. Louis and a Sunday submission to the host Kansas Jayhawks. McGowan notched identical stat lines in the first two contests as he went one-for-four on both occasions before being rendered hitless in the Sunday finale. With the two weekend hits added to his season collection, McGowan is now stroking the ball at a .234 clip as he has also driven in five runs and scored four times.

Trending towards the east, Illinois was the landing spot for returning 2015 Rafter Dustin Woodcock as his winless SIU-Edwardsville squad took on Jacksonville State for a three-game series over the weekend. Despite succumbing to yet another sweep, Woodcock proved to be a lightning rod in the middle of the lineup for the Cougars has he piled up five base hits in three games. A week removed from a quiet showing against Missouri State, Woodcock reached base three times on both Friday and Sunday, including a walk on Friday and a double on Sunday. The outfielder also stole his first base of the season on Sunday, capping the sophomore’s stellar weekend. Woodcock’s hot hitting lifted his batting average to .279 as he has also driven in four runs, scored twice, and stolen a base.

The tough beginning to 2016 continued over the weekend for the Canisius Griffins, who dropped all four games to the University of Cincinnati. Taking the mound for the back half of Friday’s double header was junior right-hander Josh Shepley, who turned in his longest outing to date, but received just a single run of support in route to taking the loss. Across 6.2 innings, Shepley scattered four runs, three of which were earned, and struck out six without issuing a walk. Shepley now holds a 1-2 record and a 5.66 ERA in 20.2 innings while fanning 17 hitters and limiting the opposition to a .256 batting average. Shepley’s teammate, Jake Lumley, enjoyed a fruitful weekend as the middle infielder exploded for hits in all four games, finishing the weekend seven-for-fourteen with three walks, two runs scored, a run batted in, and a pair of stolen bases. After entering the weekend south of the Mendoza line, Lumley elevated his batting average more than one-hundred points to .245 to accompany his seven runs scored, seven walks, and four RBI.

In a matchup between conference foes, the reigning NCAA Champion Virginia Cavaliers traveled to Durham, North Carolina to square off against Duke. The weekend proved successful as the Cavs took two of three from the Blue Devils, running their season record to 11-5. While freshman Jon Meola was absent from action, fellow future Rafter Doak Dozier appeared in all three contests, starting twice and collecting a base hit as a pinch-hitter. The weekend was quiet for Dozier, as the pinch-hit single he registered on Saturday proved to be the only time he would reach base in the three-game series. The Texas native also drove in a run on Friday, leaving him with four RBI, a home run, and a .265 batting average over 11 games.

Down south, Alabama State faced one of the most strenuous schedules in the country as they set out to play six games in as many days with only Thursday to recuperate. With former Freshman All-American Yamil Pagan at the top of the lineup for all six contests and Joseph Estrada coming off the bench four times, the Hornets racked up a quartet of wins, running their season record to 10-7. Pagan hit safely in four of the six games while also smacking a home run, driving in four runs, stealing a trifecta of bases, and scoring four times. Having led off all 17 games, Pagan owns a .282 batting average in addition to three long balls, 13 RBI, 16 runs scored, and seven stolen bases. In his limited action, Estrada scored once without recording a hit as he continues to make an impact as a substitute and late game defensive replacement.

A few states over in Florida, Bethune-Cookman welcomed a couple of mid-week adversaries to Daytona Beach in the form of Jacksonville University and UCF before road-tripping to Tallahassee for a massive rivalry series against Florida A&M. With returning Rafter Demetrius Sims at the top of the lineup for each of the weekday games, the Wildcats split the results, including a resounding 17-3 victory over UCF on Wednesday. While Sims failed to record a hit in either game, the speedy shortstop drew a pair of walks, was hit by a pitch, and scored twice. Sims recorded his only hit of the week in the front end of Friday’s double header against Florida A&M as he went one-for-two with a walk and a run scored. Having started all 15 games for the Wildcats, Sims is swinging the bat at a .220 clip with four RBI, a stolen base, and a team-leading 12 runs scored.

In the final action of the week, Dylan File and the Division II Dixie State Storm traveled to the California Bay Area on Monday for the first of a four-game series against Academy of Art. File, acting as the squad’s ace, fired seven full innings on his way to earning what proved to be the first of two victories for the Storm on Monday. While File struck out just a single hitter, he held the home squad to just three runs on seven hits and three walks. Following the win, File has now struck out 31 hitters in 38 innings of work, while recording a 2.80 ERA and four quality starts (six or more innings with three runs or fewer).

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.