(Pictured: IF Jake Lumley, Canisius College. 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.

April 25 – May 1: Lumley Brings Home MAAC Player Of The Week Honors

By: Cooper Perkins

The regular season is racing to a close at both the Division I and II levels, meaning a group of 2016 Rafter signees spent the past week looking to punch their tickets to the postseason. Beginning with Division II, which is just two weeks from beginning the NCAA Tournament, this edition of the Weekly Recap, tracks each member of the 2016 Rafters and their progress to date.

At the head of the pack, Georgia College tallied yet another perfect week by running the table to the tune of a spotless 4-0 record. Following a Tuesday win over Toccoa Falls and a three-game weekend road trip to Augusta, the Bobcats concluded their regular season with a 31-16 record and now boast a 10-game winning streak. In their sustained success, the Bobcats have been catalyzed by a potent offense that has posted double-digit scores in six of their last seven games, including five consecutively. Sophomore outfielder Logan Mattix asserted himself as a major contributor in the ‘Cats’ offensive outpouring, as the leadoff man hit safely in all four games and scored at least one run in each as well. Throughout the course of the slate, Mattix posted a .421 batting average (8-for-19) with three doubles, a home run, two walks, and 10 runs scored. His performance reached its pinnacle on Friday night at Augusta when he posted a four-hit night, scored four times, and bashed three extra-base hits. In total, the Georgia native has abused opposing pitching on his way to a .333 batting average, 11 home runs, 37 RBI, and a team-best 65 runs scored. Just as Mattix has dominated the opposition without fail this season, fellow Rafter signee Cameron Busby has occupied the nightmares of opposing hitters throughout the spring. The right-hander logged two additional relief appearances last week, notching his team-leading tenth win of the year by scattering six hits, two runs, and seven strikeouts across seven innings. In 26 outings out of the bullpen, Busby has fired an astounding 72.2 innings and posted a 10-2 mark, two saves, a 3.59 ERA, and 60 punch outs compared to just nine walks.

For Millersville University, the regular season will be remembered for generations as one of the best in program history. Ranked first in virtually every national NCAA Division II poll, Millersville finished the campaign with a 44-4 record, including an unblemished 20-0 mark at their home stadium, Cooper Park. Five more victories over the likes of Kutztown and Wilmington now send the juggernaut into the national tournament riding a seven-game winning streak and a wave of momentum startling to its future opponents. Despite his team’s thrilling crescendo to conference play, pitcher Eric Ligda endured a quiet week and watched all five match ups from the dugout. Ligda, a recently announced addition to the Rafters’ pitching staff, has worked six appearances out of the bullpen and maintained a 4.05 ERA in 6.2 innings without a record.

Representing Division II’s West Coast region, Cal State Dominguez Hills looked to rebound from a difficult series loss to Cal State San Bernadino, but instead watched as their hopefulness evaporated over the weekend. The Toros were swept in a four-game series against Cal State Los Angeles, leaving Dominguez Hills limping into the final weekend of the regular season on a seven-game losing streak. A sliver of hope for a stake in the conference championship remains alive for the Toros, but they will have to collect themselves rapidly before their season-closing four-game set with Cal Poly Pomona. Sophomore outfielder Brandon Polizzi responded to back-to-back struggle-some games against CSULA by posting multi-hit games in the back half of the weekend series and reaching base six times total. Through 46 games, the California native’s batting average rests at .358, coupled with his 16 RBI, 38 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases.

Fourteenth-ranked Dixie State, yet another squad grappling for supremacy in Division II, buried the regular season with a series victory over Concordia, running their record to 38-12 with the NCAA West Regionals in their sights. Friday’s series-opening romp was led by sophomore ace Dylan File, who turned in his best performance in several weeks. The Utah native was masterful in route to earning his second win in as many starts, limiting Concordia to two runs on five hits, while striking out seven in seven innings. File, last season’s PacWest Freshman of the Year, will look to continue his strong campaign as the Storm trudge forward into postseason play. To date, File has fired 83.1 innings while registering a 3.02 ERA, 66 strikeouts, and a 6-1 record.

Across the NCAA Division I landscape as well, a collection of Rafters continue to perform as they and their squads compete to be one among the 64 programs selected to participate in NCAA Regionals. Entrenched in the dash towards Omaha, the University of Washington sits just one-half of a game behind Pac-12 leader Utah for first place in the conference standings. That said, the Huskies enjoyed a fruitful week, capturing three wins in four outings, including two-of-three from a talented California team that was ranked in the top-10 nationally earlier this season. Catcher Joey Morgan, a sophomore hailing from Oregon, bookended two quiet games by notching a pair of multi-hit games that helped lift Washington to wins over Seattle on Tuesday and California on Sunday. The latest strong showing from Morgan allowed the backstop to remain the Huskies’ leading hitter at .312 and lifted his totals to three home runs, 20 runs batted in, 20 runs scored, and one stolen base.

In the southwest, Grand Canyon played host to WAC adversary Chicago State for a three-game conference series in succession of a midweek road trip to the state of Kansas that was comprised of stops in Lawrence and Manhattan. After tying the Jayhawks on Tuesday, the Lopes fell to Kansas State on Wednesday and left the state winless. Luckily for Grand Canyon fans, the weekend offered reason to cheer, as the home squad took two-of-three from their midwestern visitors. Left-handed pitchers Jake Repavich and Ethan Evanko each returned to the fold for Grand Canyon as their staff was faced with the tall task of handling five games in six days. Repavich, the staff ace, faced one batter against Kansas and struck him out before taking to the rubber for his scheduled start on Friday. Facing the Chicago State lineup, Repavich worked 4.1 innings and limited them to a run on six hits, striking out a trio. In a breakout campaign, the Arizona native has piled up a 3-2 record and boasts a 2.70 ERA and 37 punch outs in 63.1 innings of work. Evanko, a returning Rafter, finally returned to action on Wednesday after missing ample time for the Lopes. As the starter, Evanko was kept to a strict schedule and was lifted after an inning in which he gave up four runs on three hits, despite only one run having been earned. The outing was Evanko’s sixth appearance of 2016 and the first time he had pitched since March 19.

Dipping into the NAIA, Kansas was the backdrop for Sterling College’s final regular season series, featuring the Warriors traveling to the University of St. Mary for a four-game tilt. In the midst of a jaw-dropping 15-game winning streak, Sterling took the first three match ups before being bested 2-0 in the finale, leaving its season record at 43-12. Returning Rafter right-handed pitcher John Jaeger logged time in the first of two double headers and helped the group to an 8-3 win on Thursday. Out of the bullpen, Jaeger worked three innings and struck out three hitters while scattering four hits and two runs. The junior has enjoyed a comfortable season and has made appearances in 18 games, starting five of them, in route to a 6-1 record, a 3.27 ERA, and 39 strikeouts in 41.1 innings on the bump.

With a four-game slate in front of them, the Minnesota Golden Gophers sought to extend their five-game winning streak, but failed to do so. Following a Tuesday night loss on the road against North Dakota State, the Gophers traveled to Champaign, Illinois for a three-game meeting with the Illini. The week was uneventful for both Rafter signees on the Gopher roster as pitcher Jeff Fasching did not appear and Luke Pettersen started just two of the four games, notching a pair of walks and two runs scored. Fasching has appeared six times out of the bullpen in 2016, posting a 1-0 record and a 6.35 ERA with nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings of labor. Pettersen, a true freshman, has made 27 appearances and registered a .284 batting average while accruing six RBI and 13 runs scored.

Remaining in the Big Ten, the interminably long season that has plagued Purdue continued last week, as the Boilermakers dropped all four of their games, including a Tuesday game at Illinois State and a three-game weekend series against Ohio State. True freshman Jacson McGowan reasserted himself as a valuable piece of the Boilermaker lineup, however, knocking hits in three of the four contests, including a double and a pinch-hit single. During his nice week, McGowan lifted his batting average back above the Mendoza line to .207 and now owns four doubles, six runs scored, and seven RBI.

In the process of grinding through a five-game road trip to the state of Indiana, Xavier looked to test their wits against Indiana and Butler. Mother Nature, however, had other designs and inclement weather forced the cancellation of Xavier’s Wednesday game against Indiana and the Musketeers’ Saturday game against Butler. The truncated schedule proved to be friendly to Xavier, resulting in a perfect 3-0 week and a sweep of Big East opponent Butler. Strong pitching was the theme of the weekend, and, unsurprisingly, Rafter signees Garrett Schilling and Damien Richard played integral roles in the Musketeers’ success. Anchoring the back end of the bullpen, Schilling appeared in each of the first two games of the series, picking up a win in the first and a save in the second. In summation, the sophomore tossed 3.2 innings and held the Bulldogs to a run on four hits, while striking out one. In 19 appearances out of the bullpen, Schilling owns nine saves and a record of 1-3, while his ERA rests at 1.48 through 30.1 innings. Damien Richard, Schilling’s current and future teammate, worked one appearance in relief and completed two scoreless innings, scattering two hits and a walk. Showing versatility, the hurler has logged 13 appearances, including nine out of the bullpen, and is tied for the team lead with four wins. Spanning 42 innings of labor, Richard has offered a 3.21 ERA and retired 26 hitters on strikes.

Not far from the Hoosier State, Horizon League play resumed, including outfits from Valparaiso and the University of Illinois-Chicago. The two teams highlighted the conference slate with their three-game weekend date that pitted a pair of future Rafter backstops against one another. For the Crusaders, true freshman Scott Kapers started all three dates between the conference foes, going hitless and working a walk. The quiet week added to Kapers’s offensive frustrations and sank his batting average south of .200 for the first time this season, leaving the freshman with 12 RBI and without a long ball to this point. Representing UIC, recently announced catcher/first baseman hybrid Rob Calabrese received the starting nod in Sunday’s finale, finishing one-for-two with an RBI and a pair of walks. The solid outing leaves Calabrese with one home run and 15 runs batted in through 23 games played.

Also battling through the hotly contested Horizon League, UW-Milwaukee rode dominant pitching to a 3-1 week and a series victory over Northern Kentucky. Returning Rafter right-handed pitcher Jay Peters did not see action for the Panthers, meaning the junior was left to watch from the dugout. Peters, who owns a 3-4 record and a 3.19 ERA, has fired 53.2 innings and struck out 43 despite having remained on the shelf since April 23 against Valparaiso.

Representing the Ohio Valley Conference, returning Rafter outfielder Dustin Woodcock and the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars headed out for a five-game road trip. Much to the discontent of Cougar fans, the double header against Western Illinois scheduled for Wednesday did not come to fruition and was cancelled due to inclement weather. Not all was lost, however, as the boys from Edwardsville salvaged the week by swiping one-of-three from their weekend hosts, Tennessee-Martin. Across the three contests, Woodcock piled up a trio of hits, a walk, and drove in three runs, including a two-run home run on Friday. Through 38 games, the former Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American is hitting .288 with four long balls, 20 RBI, 16 runs scored, and a career-high 12 doubles.

After paying a midweek visit to Knoxville, Tennessee, fellow Ohio Valley Conference member Eastern Kentucky returned home to welcome Eastern Illinois to town for a three-game series. In response to succumbing to the Volunteers in a tight battle on Tuesday, the Colonels reversed course on Friday and Saturday, sweeping their visitors from Illinois. The campaign only continues to improve for first baseman Ben Fisher, who posted three multi-hit games over the course of the week and reached base safely in all four tilts. In total, Fisher stroked the ball at a .412 clip (7-for-17) with a home run, a double, and six runs batted in. Fisher’s surge at the plate sent his batting average north to .297, coupled with seven home runs, 31 RBI, and 31 runs scored. Fellow Rafter signee Hunter Dunn did not see any time in the week’s four games, allowing his record and ERA to sit at 3-3 and 5.36 respectively.

Alabama State, who dominated a five-game schedule last week, boarded the bus to play four games on the road, including a mid week tilt at Tennessee. Unlike their counterparts from Eastern Kentucky, the Hornets were able to prevail in a close game with the Volunteers, shutting out the SEC program 3-0 on Wednesday night. Just a few days later, Alabama State succeeded in capturing a three-game sweep over Alcorn State, keeping their conference record untouched at a perfect 21-0. In the Hornets’ latest run of success, sophomore outfielder Joseph Estrada’s lone appearance came in the form of an 0-for-2 night in Friday night’s win over Alcorn State.

Looking to build on a successful showing the week prior, Bethune-Cookman left the comfort of the Sunshine State to venture into North Carolina for a three-game conference series with North Carolina A&T. Fortunately for the Wildcats, their trip yielded a sweep of their conference hosts and aided the Florida-based squad in extending its winning streak to seven games. Red-hot infielder Demetrius Sims parlayed his recent success at the plate into another fantastic performance that was highlighted by three multi-hit games and a .444 batting average (8-for-18). Additionally, the redshirt sophomore from Michigan continued his sudden power surge by smacking yet another home run in addition to hitting a triple, driving in two runs, scoring six times, and swiping a pair of bases. After a period of frustration, Sims has reversed course to take charge of 2016 and has elevated his batting average to .274, which he pairs with three home runs, 16 RBI, 30 runs scored, and 10 steals.

The Central Florida Knights functioned as road warriors last week, meeting their schedule of four road games with decent results, illustrated in their 2-2 record. The Knights sandwiched a pair of losses to USF between a Tuesday victory over Florida Atlantic and a Sunday blowout of USF. In his first week as a subject of the weekly recap, new Rafter signee Andrew Deramo offered fans in Wisconsin Rapids a performance to provoke some excitement. In his only outing of the week, Deramo pitched the final 1.2 innings of Sunday’s romp and was nearly perfect, limiting the Bulls to just a walk and keeping his hosts scoreless while notching three strikeouts. The spotless outing marked the fourteenth appearance of the season for Deramo and lowered his ERA to 6.26 over 27.1 innings.

To the north, the University of Virginia returned to action riding the momentum of its emotional series win over top-ranked Miami and swept their four-game road trip. Following their three-game sweep of Pittsburg, the Cavaliers now boast a 30-17 record as they continue to gain steam as they look forward to their title defense in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Despite their squad’s prolonged success, neither future Rafter Doak Dozier nor Jon Meola saw the field last week, leaving the freshmen’s statistics unchanged.

Rounding out the week’s action, Canisius College continued to demonstrate the form that has propelled them to a 25-19 mark, sweeping all five games including two from Cornell and three from Youngstown State. At the forefront of the Griffin attack was junior infielder Josh Lumley, who had yet another week to remember, collectings hits in all five contests, finishing with a .555 batting average (10-for-18), six runs scored, and three walks. The high point of the week for the Canadian came in Sunday’s finale, where he finished two-for-three and mashed a grand slam, accounting for four of his six RBI on the day. Lumley’s outstanding week sent the future Rafter surging to the top of all three triple crown categories within the Griffin ranks. Lumley ranks first on the squad in batting average (.323), home runs (3) RBI (29), hits (52), and runs scored (37). While his current and future teammate, Lumley, dominated the opposition, Canisius right-handed pitcher Josh Shepley did not see action and had his spot in the starting rotation passed over. Through 10 starts, Shepley is 2-5 and owns a 4.44 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 52.2 innings of labor.