Giese pitches as Rafters hope for fifth straight win

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – One day removed from outlasting the Kenosha Kingfish (22-43, 6-23) by a final score of 5-3, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (43-21, 19-9) look to earn a two-game sweep of the Kingfish for the second time this summer. With a four-game winning streak entering the action, the Rafters are in position to match their longest winning streak of the season with a win on Sunday.

Taking the mound for the Rafters will be left-hander Cal Giese (St. Cloud State), a local product hailing from Plover, Wisconsin. Giese enters Sunday with a 3-2 record and a 4.93 ERA in 31 innings of labor, having struck out 25 batters and walked 14. The outing will mark Giese’s first meeting with the Kingfish this season, as he looks to control a primarily right-handed lineup whose batting average sits nearly 60 points higher against left-handed pitching than right. After a brief showing last Monday in which he threw just 60 pitches, Giese will look to rebound from his shortest start of the season. In the second game of Monday’s double header with Eau Claire, Giese lasted just 2 2/3 innings and surrendered six runs (five earned) on five hits and two walks, striking out a pair. Fortunately for Giese, the Rafter lineup exploded to score ten consecutive runs and led the team to a come-from-behind 11-8 win.

Giese’s opponent on Sunday will be Purdue right-hander Adam Dressler, who is in line to pitch for the fourteenth time, making just his fourth start. A native of Illinois, Dressler owns a 2-2 record and a 5.40 ERA in 43 1/3 innings of work, having struck out 15 and walked 17. The start will mark Dressler’s third head-to-head meeting with the Rafters, as he has thrown 5 2/3 innings against the Rafters previously, surrendering three unearned runs on six hits and two walks, picking up three strikeouts. Dressler, who began the season as a reliever, has struggled lately for the Kingfish, having allowed 12 runs (all earned) on 12 hits and five walks with just two strikeouts in his last two appearances spanning 11 total innings. In his most recent stint, Dressler was tagged for five runs on five hits across 6 2/3 innings in the process of taking his second loss of the season.

First pitch at Witter Field is scheduled for 4:05 PM with gates opening at 3:05 PM.

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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.