Rafters Host Dock Spiders for Final Time at Witter Field

Wisconsin Rapids and Fond du Lac play two on the road Sunday to finish season series

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – Inching closer to the end of the first half of the season, Wisconsin Rapids (24-7) hosts Fond du Lac (12-19) on Saturday evening at Witter Field. This is the last meeting between the two teams in Rapids this season.

Five games remain in the first half of the season, and three of those come against the Dock Spiders for the Rafters. Wisconsin Rapids is 4-1 this year when playing Fond du Lac, and come off a 9-4 win in Madison on Friday.

Christian Jones helped lead the charge against the Mallards, blasting two home-runs and driving in three runs. Dustin Woodcock roped a pair of RBI singles, and the Rafters had a 5-0 lead after the first four innings of the game.  

Rafters starter Jack Eagan (6-0) was on his game from the start, striking out four batters in the first three innings while getting production from his offense.

The lead swelled back to five in the seventh for the Rafters, as Jacson McGowan blasted his first home-run of the season over the center field fence to give the Rafters a 7-2 advantage. Ryan Stekl then singled in a run while McGowan drove in Woodcock on a sacrifice fly to put the Rafters ahead 9-3 before the Mallards tagged on a run in the last inning to put the final score at 9-4. Eagan won his sixth game of the season, most in the league this year.

On Saturday, the Rafters send Quinn DiPasquale out on the mound to face the Dock Spiders. The right-hander is 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA. He is one of four Rafters starters with an ERA under 3.00. His best outing of the season came in Wausau against the Woodchucks, tossing seven and two-thirds of one-run baseball. On the season DiPasquale has struck out 28 batters while issuing just five walks. The righty went five innings in his last start in Kalamazoo, giving up two runs.

First pitch in Wisconsin Rapids at Witter Field is slated for 6:05 pm on Saturday against the Dock Spiders. Coverage starts at 5:50 pm on AM 1320 WFHR and WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network. The game against Fond du Lac is Advanced Disposal Star Wars Night. Jerseys will be auctioned off benefiting the Boys and Girls Club.  

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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.