Rafters Set Franchise Record With Ninth Straight Win

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – For the second consecutive evening, an explosive first inning and stellar pitching lifted the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (48-21, 24-9) to victory, pushing the club’s winning streak to a franchise-record nine games. With a dominant effort, the Rafters routed the Kalamazoo Growlers (32-38, 12-22) by a final score of 10-1 to clinch the Northwoods League South Division Second-Half Championship.

After a quiet top of the first inning, the Rafter lineup surged in front of Kalamazoo with a four-run bottom half, started by a leadoff walk from Brandon Polizzi (Cal State Dominguez Hills). A stolen base and a groundout from Richie Palacios (Towson) pushed Polizzi into scoring position, allowing him to score the game’s first run on an RBI double by Jake Lumley (Canisius). A walk by Rob Calabrese (Illinois-Chicago) followed by a Ben Fisher (Eastern Kentucky) double brought home the second run of the inning and doubled the Rafters’ lead. After a Brett Thompson (Hope International) single and a wild pitch each brought in runs, the Rafters finished the first inning with a 4-0 lead.

Two more runs scored for the Rafters in the bottom of the second inning when Calabrese doubled to bring home a pair of runs and widened the Rafter lead to 6-0. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning, Scott Kapers (Valparaiso) continued his hot hitting with a two-run single to widen the Rafter lead to 8-0. Finally, Jake Lumley brought home the Rafters’ ninth and tenth runs of the ballgame in the bottom of the seventh inning to round out the Rats’ scoring.

With a 10-0 advantage entering the top of the ninth inning, Alex Varaksa (Lackawanna CC) was unable to finish the shutout, as Kalamazoo scored a run on a sacrifice fly before the night’s end. In the victory, starting pitcher Jake Repavich (Grand Canyon) worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings in which he allowed just a single base hit and one walk, while striking out two. The victory improved Repavich’s record to 2-3 and dropped his ERA to 2.38 on the season. Alex Varaksa threw the final 3 2/3 innings of the ballgame, allowing one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out four batters.

The Rafters will look to extend their winning streak into double digits on Saturday, as they travel to Battle Creek to complete an earlier suspended game before playing a previously scheduled seven-inning contest. First pitch for the first game is slated for 3:05 PM CT with the second ballgames expected to follow immediately after.

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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.