Surging Chinooks visit Rafters for first of two games

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – Fresh off an off day, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (11-8) return to Witter Field well-rested and prepared for the front end of a two-game home set with the Lakeshore Chinooks (9-13). With the exception of their Father’s Day loss on Sunday, the Rafters enjoyed a fruitful four-game home-at-home series with the Kalamazoo Growlers, notching a 3-1 record in the four dates.

Having last pitched on June 14th against the Madison Mallards, right-hander Jay Peters (UW-Milwaukee) will take the ball for the Rafters in Tuesday’s series opener. Peters, the Rafters’ opening day starter, enters his fourth start of the season with a 5.62 ERA and still seeking his first decision of the campaign. The second-year Rafter will look to command his fastball and breaking ball with more consistency against the Chinooks after issuing three walks and a pair of home runs to the Mallards one week ago.

Lakeshore will counter with right-hander Joey Abraham of Vanderbilt, who is scheduled to make his fourth start of the summer. Abraham, like Peters, will look to locate his control against the Rafters after issuing more walks (14) than strikeouts (13) across his first three outings. Most recently, Abraham was saddled with a loss in the Chinooks’ 4-2 loss against the La Crosse Loggers on June 15th. In the losing effort, Abraham worked four innings, issued a season-low three walks and surrendered all four runs, only three of which were earned. 

Tuesday’s matchup marks the first of the season between the Rafters and Chinooks, with the Rafters owning a 10-24 all-time mark against Lakeshore. After taking the first three meetings in 2015, the Rafters dropped five consecutive duels with the Chinooks, a streak that remains active entering Tuesday night.

Entering the evening’s action, Lakeshore rides the momentum of a double-header sweep on Monday against fellow South Division member Kenosha. At 9-13 overall, the Chinooks sit 5 games behind the first-place Madison Mallards and 3.5 behind the Rafters, who occupy second place by themselves.

At the heart of the duel between the Rafters and Chinooks will be a series of strength versus strength match ups that loom purposefully over both clubs. While Lakeshore’s pitching staff has struck 186 batters, more than any team in the Northwoods League entering Tuesday, Rafter hitters have gone down on strikes at the second-lowest rate in the league through their first 19 games. Furthermore, the Chinooks boast the second-lowest opponent batting average (.219) in the league, while the Rafters as a unit have hit the ball at a .280 clip, trailing only Madison’s .289 average in the South Division.

First pitch at Witter Field is at 7:05 p.m. and gates will open to the public at 6:05 p.m.

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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, 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 150 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 portal. For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the Bullfrogs as your favorite team.