Rafters Try To Sweep Bombers On ‘90s Night

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (29-16, 5-4) will return to action on Friday night at Witter Field, looking to sweep the Battle Creek Bombers (22-23, 4-5) in their final home game before the all-star break. After a wild come-from-behind victory on Thursday, the Rafters enter Friday hoping to build upon the momentum gathered in the late innings of their series opener against Battle Creek.

Cal Giese (St. Cloud State), a left-handed tosser, is in line to pitch for the Rafters. The start will be Giese’s fourth of the season and his eighth overall appearance. To this point, Giese has pitched exceedingly well for the Rafters, posting a 3-2 record and a 3.00 ERA coupled with 20 strikeouts in 21 innings of work. A local product, Giese has been a revelation for the Rafters after initially joining the team on a temporary contract. The Plover native has not been tagged for more than three runs in any start this season, helping the Rafters to a 2-1 record in games that he starts. In his most recent outing, the southpaw worked through five innings and earned a win against the Green Bay Bullfrogs despite battling his control at times. Across his five innings on the mound, Giese surrendered five hits and five walks, allowing three runs (all earned) and striking out one.

Leading the visiting Bombers will be Scott Sency, a fellow left-hander, who is expected to make his eighth start of 2016. Sency, a native of Ohio, has experienced mixed results this summer, posting an equal number of excellent and frustrating outings. Overall, Sency owns a record of 2-3 and an ERA of 4.79 in 35 2/3 innings on the rubber. After consecutive strong starts at the end of June, Sency is now looking move past a pair of troublesome July performances in which he surrendered a total of 10 runs in 10 2/3 innings.

Friday night’s game is themed “’90’s Night” and will be headlined by an appearance from Saved By the Bell actor Dennis Haskins. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05PM with gates opening to the general public at 6:05PM.

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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 Rafters as your favorite team.