Rafters Start Road Trip in Madison on Thursday 

Wisconsin Rapids plays next seven games on the road, set to play nine games in seven days

 

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – Fresh off the All-Star break that saw the South defeat the North 6-2 in Wausau, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Rapids (34-13, 7-4) starts its seven game road trip in Madison (26-21, 7-5) on Thursday from Warner Park. 

 

Before the All-Star break, the Rafters defeated Rockford, 14-10 with strong offenses on the field for both teams. 

 

Trailing 6-2 in the third, Charlie McConnell for the Rafters led off the inning with a walk and came in to score on a Nick Anderson single. The Rafters loaded the bases with one out and Jake Guenther delivered a grand slam to put the Rafters ahead 7-6. Wisconsin Rapids added on four more runs in the fourth as Christian Jones, Dom Paiotti and Scott Kapers all recorded RBI hits and a Rockford error plated another run to lead 11-6. 

 

Ryan Hutchinson drove in his fourth run of the day on a sacrifice groundout for the Rockford, and JC DeMuri brought the Rivets within two runs of Wisconsin Rapids with a two-run home run to right. The Rafters answered all three Rockford runs in the top of the inning in the bottom of the fifth. Anderson blasted a two-run home run to straight away center field and Guenther doubled off the wall in center to plate Jones to pick up the win. 

 

In the All-Star game Tuesday, the six selected Rafters helped guide the South Division to a 6-2 win over the North. Pitchers Jack Eagan, Quinn DiPasquale, Jesse Slinger, and Cameron Busby combined for three scoreless innings of relief for the South’s bullpen. Dustin Woodcock played the entire game in right field, while Jake Guenther started as the designated hitter. 

 

Starting on the mound on Thursday for the Rafters is Isaiah Carranza. The sophomore is 4-0 with a 2.35 ERA in four starts. His last appearance came out of the bullpen in the win against Rockford, as the righty tossed an inning and picked the win. Carranza’s most recent start came against Battle Creek, where he threw six and two-thirds and struck out four. His longest outing of the season was his first start, going seven innings in Green Bay. 

 

The Rafters and Mallards meet for the fifth time this year, with the season series split 2-2. Wisconsin Rapids won the last game 9-4 at Warner Park, backed by two Christian Jones home runs. 

 

Thursday’s game is slated for 7:05 p.m. in Madison. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. on AM 1320 WFHR and WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network. 

 

 

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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, 180 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 www.raftersbaseball.comor download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.