Rafters Travel to Kalamazoo with Five Game Road Win Streak

Wisconsin Rapids has won 12 straight, including five on the road

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. –  Heading to Michigan for the first time this year, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (14-1) take on the Kalamazoo Growlers (4-11) on Thursday for the first of two games this week at Homer Stryker Field.

Wisconsin Rapids heads into the series after two wins against Green Bay in a home and home series, capped off by a 12-0 victory on Wednesday night at Witter Field.

The Rafters offense got started early in the bottom of the second. Ryan Stekl started the inning off with a single. Josh Rehwaldt followed with a base knock of his own to put runners at the corners. With Jake Guenther at the plate, Bullfrogs pitcher Noah Miller picked off to first, but the ball got passed the first-basemen, allowing Stekl to score and the Rafters to take a 1-0 lead.

Guenther drove in two on a single to right in the third inning to help the Rafters score three in the inning to take a commanding 4-0 lead after three. But it was the big fourth inning that helped put the game out of reach. Charlie McConnell, Bryson Stott, and Dustin Woodcock all led off with walks. Stekl drove a single to score two and push the lead to 6-0. Christian Jones doubled in a run, and Guenther capped it off with another two-RBI base hit. The Rafters tagged on three more runs in the game to win 12-0 behind seven shutout innings from starter Jesse Slinger (3-0).

Woodcock continues to see the baseball well, batting a league-best .465 entering Thursday’s game. The lefty bat has three home-runs and 15 runs batted in.

Set to take the mound for his second start of the year is lefty Sam Carver for the Rafters. In two appearances this season, the Coffeyville Community College product has pitched in nine and a third innings while striking out six. In his lone start of the year against Fond du Lac, Carver tossed five and a third in the 8-5 Rafters win. His other appearance came in an extended bullpen appearance, pitching four innings and allowing two hits against Kenosha.  

First pitch in Kalamazoo is slated for 6:05 pm CT. Coverage of the game can be found on WFHR 1320 AM or WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network. Pregame coverage begins at 5:50 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. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit http://northwoodsleague.com/wisconsin-rapids-rafters/ or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.