Rafters Complete Sweep of Bombers in Battle Creek

Jack Eagan earns league-high fifth win of the season

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. –  Allowing just one earned run on the mound, Jack Eagan (5-0) picked up his league-best fifth win on the season as Wisconsin Rapids (21-4) swept Battle Creek (14-11) on Saturday evening at C.O. Brown Stadium in an 8-1 victory.

The Rafters got on the board early, scoring in the first inning. Bryson Stott and Dustin Woodcock drew back-to-back walks with one out and advanced on a wild pitch while Ryan Stekl was up to bat. After Stekl grounded out, Josh Rehwaldt dug into the batter’s box, working a 3-1 count before another wild pitch from Bombers starter Christian Griffin (1-2) scored Stott from third to put the first run on the board.

In the second inning, the Rafters offense put up six runs as the team batted around. Charlie McConnell led the inning off with a walk, and Scott Kapers drove him in on a single to left. Nick Anderson drew a walk, and Stott singled to the right side to bring in a run. Stekl grounded out to score Anderson, and put the Rafters on top 4-0. After a pitching change, the Rafters offense continued to swing it.

Rehwaldt grounded a single to bring in Stott, and Jake Guenther doubled in two runs to push the Rafters lead to 7-0 after two innings.

The only run the Bombers could tag on Eagan came in the bottom of the fourth. Alex Howard led off with a single, scoring on a single by JD Mundy with two outs.

Wisconsin Rapids added another insurance run in the eighth when Nick Owens hit a ball the Bombers shortstop was unable to make a play on, scoring McConnell to give the Rafters an 8-1 lead. The bullpen of Nick Avia and Aaron Herr pitched the final two innings, giving up one base runner and no hits.

Eagan earns the win while Griffin is spotted with his second loss on the year, giving up six earned runs.

First pitch from Kalamazoo on Sunday is slated for 2:05 pm CT. Coverage of the game can be found on WFHR 1320 AM or WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network. Pregame coverage begins at 1:50 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.