(Pictured: C Rob Calabrese, University of Illinois-Chicago. Photo courtesy of UIC 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.

May 2 – May 9: Regular Seasons Winding To An End For Future Rafters

By: Cooper Perkins

First pitch in the Northwoods League sits just a few weeks in the distance, meaning that the college baseball season has swiftly shifted to a downswing. Across the country, future Rafters continue to take the field at each the Division I, Division I, and NAIA levels, seeking to end their season with a flourish.

Often squads at the Division II level conclude their seasons before their Division I counterparts, resulting in two teams bearing Rafter signees sat idle last week. Georgia College enjoyed an opportunity to rest and recover; future Rafters Cameron Busby and Logan Mattix look forward to vying for the Peach Belt Conference Tournament crown this week in Florence, South Carolina. Much like the Bobcats, Dixie State stayed home in preparation for the NCAA Regionals set to begin on May 19, where they will be looking for a dominant performance from ace Dylan File to open postseason play.

Also at the Division II level, top-ranked Millersville University enjoyed a pair of blowout wins in the PSAC Tournament, doing away with both California (Pa.) and East Stroudsburg. In the second-round victory over East Stroudsburg, reliever Eric Ligda struggled, but was backed by a potent offense in route to advancing to the tournament’s third round. In his lone appearance of the week, the tosser fired 0.2 innings and surrendered three earned runs on five hits and a walk. The difficult outing lifted Ligda’s season to 4.05 as he has made six appearances in relief, striking out six hitters in 6.2 innings.

Representing the West Coast faction of Division II, Cal State Dominguez Hills concluded its regular season with a four-game home-at-home series with nineteenth-ranked Cal Poly Pomona. The Toros, who desperately needed a strong showing to stay alive in the conference championship hunt, struggled to a 1-3 record, dropping both games on the road and salvaging only the back half of a double header at home. Sophomore outfielder Brandon Polizzi worked well out of the leadoff spot, reaching base eight times in the four games and scoring five runs. To this point in the season, Polizzi has swung the bat at a .353 clip and has totaled 16 RBI, 44 runs scored, 26 walks, and 14 stolen bases.

Similar to NCAA Division II, the NAIA regular season has largely come to a close and conference tournaments dominated the landscape of the past week. In the state of Kansas, Sterling College put together a memorable run on their way to capturing the KCAC Tournament championship. The Warriors’ road to hoisting the conference championship trophy was littered with challenges. In the process of earning the KCAC crown and a birth in the NAIA national tournament, Sterling ousted three ranked teams, including a clinching 9-5 victory over twelfth-ranked York College. Returning Rafter pitcher John Jaeger made just one appearance throughout the week’s action, notching two innings and a strikeout while allowing an earned run. Jaeger, who has made 19 appearances and started five times, owns a 6-1 record and a 3.32 ERA in addition to 40 strikeouts in 43.1 innings on the hill.

Unlike some of the lower levels of college baseball, Division I programs are still in the midst of their regular seasons and their respective races for conference championships. Pac-12 leading Washington traveled south to Los Angeles for a three-game series with USC. The Huskies, looking to tighten their grip on first place, rebounded from a series-opening loss on Friday to win back-to-back contests and run their record in rubber matches to a perfect 7-0. Batting cleanup for the Seattle-based squad, catcher Joey Morgan reached base three times on the weekend, drove in a run, and scored once. Morgan’s contribution was perhaps even more pronounced behind the plate, where he handled a pitching staff that was excellent all weekend and finished the series by one-hitting the Trojans on Mother’s Day. To this point in the season, Morgan has posted a .299 batting average, three home runs, 21 runs batted in, and 21 runs scored.

Also in the West, Arizona-based Grand Canyon split its time between California and Colorado, as the Lopes split two games with San Jose State and were swept by Northern Colorado. Throughout the five games, returning Rafter Ethan Evanko appeared out of the bullpen twice and totaled 1.1 scoreless innings. Despite a hiatus from action in the middle of the season, the southpaw has now appeared in eight games, thrown 25 innings, and posted a 2-2 record, 5.04 ERA, and 18 punch outs. Jake Repavich, a teammate of Evanko, continued his strong season with two more appearances last week, striking out a hitter in relief against San Jose State and earning a start against Northern Colorado. The lefty’s latest start proved to be a frustrating experience, typified by 5.2 innings of work that earned him only a no-decision, despite the fact that he allowed only a single earned run and struck out four hitters. Frustratingly, a series of defensive miscues led to four unearned runs that soured the start for Repavich. In 14 appearances, the pre-season All-WAC selection has delivered a 2.60 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 60.1 innings of labor.

Joining the Lopes in the state of Colorado were the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars who took to the road for a four-game series at Air Force. Despite his squad’s falling victim to a sweep, sophomore outfielder Dustin Woodcock enjoyed a productive week, reaching base seven times, doubling once, and scoring three times. The former Freshman All-American has performed at a high level throughout his sophomore season, hitting .293 with four home runs, 20 RBI, 19 runs scored, and four stolen bases.

Rounding out the week’s action in the Southwest, Texas A&M Corpus Christi split a four-game slate, taking a weekday matchup against UTRGV and winning one-of-three from Sam Houston State over the weekend. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Chris Cooper received a starting nod over the weekend and turned in a positive showing despite being saddled with the loss. In six innings, Cooper scattered four earned runs on seven hits and three walks, but, most notably, piled up a career-high seven strikeouts. The outing was Cooper’s 21st of the season (sixth start) and dropped his record to 1-3. In the midst of a breakout campaign, Cooper has earned one save and maintained a 3.70 ERA through 48.2 frames, while striking out 34 opponents.

Just a few hours from Wisconsin Rapids, UW-Milwaukee hosted a revolving door of opponents in a weekly schedule that forced the Panthers to battle through six games in seven days. Following individual wins over Chicago State and Parkside, Milwaukee split a pair with Oakland and swept both match ups from Youngstown State. Despite the Panthers’ success, playing six games wore heavily on their pitching staff and required them to call Jay Peters, a starter, into relief duty as a supplement to his scheduled start. The junior fired a scoreless inning and struck out a pair against Chicago State before taking the Panthers’ lone loss of the week in his start against Oakland. Over five innings, Peters scattered nine hits and five earned runs, walking one and striking out four. Through 14 appearances, the right-hander has notched nine starts and a 3-5 record in addition to a 3.62 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 59.2 innings on the bump.

Minnesota began their week in Kansas with a two-game sweep of the Jayhawks before finishing with a two-of-three series loss to the Hoosiers in Indiana. A pair of Rafter signees saw action for the nationally ranked Gophers, as Jeff Fasching pitched once out of the bullpen and Luke Pettersen logged action in all five games, starting once. Fasching wasted little time in building his season resume, tossing a scoreless inning against Kansas in his only appearance. The appearance was the reliever’s seventh of 2016 and the inning lowered his ERA to 5.40, paired with a 1-0 record and nine punch outs in 6.2 innings of work. Pettersen, a freshman, made just five plate appearances in the five games, notching one hit in the process. To this point in the campaign, Pettersen is batting .273 with six RBI and 13 runs scored.

In a three-game series at Big Ten Conference opponent Northwestern, Purdue continued its difficult season by dropping all three games. While his team struggled against the Wildcats, true freshman Jacson McGowan performed excellently by going three-for-seven with a walk in his two starts. The solid weekend lifted McGowan’s season average to .223, which he pairs with seven RBI and six runs scored.

Illinois-Chicago also clashed with Northwestern among two other adversaries last week, beating the Wildcats once, taking both match ups with Northern Kentucky, and splitting a pair with Youngstown State. Recently announced member of the 2016 Rafters Rob Calabrese functioned as half of a platoon for the Flames, earning three starts. Throughout his action, Calabrese, a sophomore, reached base three times, drove in a run, scored once, and stole a base. With the most recent week behind him, the New York native now boasts one home run, sixteen RBI, 10 runs scored, and four steals.

Also in Horizon League play, Valparaiso squared off with a five game schedule including one game at Northern Illinois, two contests at Wright State, and a final pair at home against Northern Kentucky. The results were far from the desired outcome for the Crusaders, as Valparaiso was swept in all five dates. True freshman catcher Scott Kapers continued to be a fixture in the Valpo lineup, starting four of the five games and reaching base three times. More notable, however, was that Kapers bashed his first collegiate home run and knocked in a quartet of runs, lifting his season total to 16 RBI.

In the South, a number of teams owned light schedules last week, led by Virginia and Bethune-Cookman. The thirteenth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers played only one game last week, resulting in a win over Liberty at home. In that lone outing, neither Rafter signee Doak Dozier nor Jon Meola was called into action, leaving each player’s statistics unchanged. Dozier, a true freshman, has hit a pair of home runs and driven in six runs, while Meola, another true freshman, has batted .286 in limited opportunity. For Bethune-Cookman, they too played only one game—a loss to top-ranked Florida in Gainesville. Against the Gators, returning Rafter Demetrius Sims went quietly in route to a hitless showing. In 45 games, Sims has posted a .268 batting average, three long balls, 16 RBI, 30 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases.

Remaining in the Sunshine State, Central Florida welcomed Cincinnati to town for a three-game series, sending the Bearcats home after taking two-of-three from their visitors. Recent addition to the Rafters Andrew Deramo was solid in his only outing of the weekend, despite being victimized by defensive lapses responsible for a pair of unearned runs. Over two innings, Deramo allowed just one hit and a walk, striking out three. Through 15 appearances and four starts, the sophomore has compiled a 1-3 record, notched 38 strikeouts, and maintained a 5.83 ERA in 29.1 innings on the mound.

In Alabama, the Hornets of Alabama State faced a pair of in-state opponents in the form of Troy and Alabama A&M. The Hornets fell to the visiting Trojans to commence play before rebounding to sweep their three-game home-at-home series with Alabama A&M. Sophomore outfielder Joseph Estrada expanded his typical pinch-hitting role to include a start, but went hitless in just two at bats last week. To this point in the season, Estrada has helped the Hornets to a perfect record in conference play by smacking a home run, driving in four runs, and scoring 10 times.

Eastern Kentucky led off their week by obtaining their second win of the season over an SEC team, downing Kentucky before taking two of three from Jacksonville State. Across the four game stretch, first baseman Ben Fisher reached base five times, scored twice, and picked up an RBI. Fisher continues to enjoy a strong season at the plate, now batting .290 with a career-high seven home runs, 32 runs batted in, and 33 runs scored. Additionally, pitcher Hunter Dunn did not see the field in any of Eastern Kentucky’s four games, leaving his record unchanged at 3-3 in addition to a 5.36 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 42 innings.

In the Northeast, Xavier traveled to New Jersey for a date with Seton Hall and battered the Pirates for a three-game sweep. In the series, Musketeer closer Garrett Schilling appeared twice and totaled two innings while picking up his tenth save of the season. Schilling, a sophomore, has posted a breakout season to the tune of 21 appearances out of the bullpen, ten saves, a 1.67 ERA, and 27 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. A fellow Musketeer, pitcher Damien Richard allowed a couple of hits, two walks, and an earned run in his lone inning last week. Across 14 appearances, Richard has started four contests, worked his way to a 4-2 record, piled up 29 punch outs, and limited the opposition to a 3.35 ERA in 43 innings of labor.

New York-based Canisius took to the road for five games last week, including clashes with Buffalo and St. Bonaventure to precede a three-game weekend series at Fairfield. Despite the Griffins’ only being able to manage a 1-4 record, junior infielder Jake Lumley turned in his latest stellar performance in the form of a seven-for-nineteen week. The Canadian-born Lumley reached base a total of 12 times by pairing his seven hits with two walks and three hit by pitches. Lumley leads the squad in batting average (.328), home runs (3), and RBI (32), while also ranking towards the top of the unit with 40 runs scored, 28 walks, and 10 stolen bases.

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.