Rafters Play Final Road Game of the Regular Season

With a win, Wisconsin Rapids ties the record for most wins in a single season in league history

 

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – In its final game on the road of 2017, Wisconsin Rapids (50-19, 23-10) takes on Rockford (38-30, 21-13) from Rivets Stadium on Friday. With a win, the Rafters tie the record for most wins in a single season in league history. 

 

After a record-setting 12-2 win on Thursday against the Rivets that saw the Rafters break their own single season wins record, Wisconsin Rapids seeks to finish the road portion of the regular season with a sweep. 

 

The Rivets struck first on Thursday, scoring a run due to a Rafters error in the first inning. Bren Spillane (Illinois) singled to start the inning. Brian Klein (Texas Tech) walked, and on a double steal the throw to third sailed into left to allow Spillane to score. 

 

It took until the fourth for the Rafters offense to get on the board, but they did so in record-breaking fashion. Bryson Stott (UNLV) led off the inning with a single, and Ryan Stekl (Canisius) doubled him home to tie the game. Dustin Woodcock (SIUE) followed with a base hit to put runners at the corners, and Alex Holderbach (Eastern Kentucky University) notched a single to give the Rafters their first lead of the game, 2-1. 

 

With nobody out and men at the corners, Scott Kapers (Valparaiso) crushed a three-run homer in the inning to extend the Rafters lead 5-1. Michael Ruffolo (Rockhurst) drew a walk and Charlie McConnell  (Northeastern) was hit by a pitch. Nick Anderson (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) followed with a walk to load the bases. 

 

On a 3-1 count, Stott unloaded the bases with a grand slam to extend the Rafters lead to 9-1. With a man on base, Holderbach roped a double to give the Rafters a 10-1 lead. The 10 runs in the inning mark the most the Rafters have scored in one frame in franchise history. The Rafters tagged on two more runs to win 12-2 in the series opener. 

 

With a chance to sweep the series on Friday, the Rafters send Jesse Slinger (Lock Haven University) on the mound. The right-hander is 7-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 11 starts. Slinger is tied with Jack Eagan (Madison College) for the most wins on the team, and they both lead the league in victories.  

 

Set to counter on the mound for the Rivets is righty Brad Littleton (Indiana). The freshman is 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA in 11 appearances. Littleton has seven starts under his belt, including against the Rafters on July 24th. He gave up three earned runs in the Rivets 12-4 win, tossing six innings and striking out four.

 

Game Notes: 

 

– The Rafters lead the all-time series with the Rivets, 9-6 after nearly two years of play. The Rafters hold a 4-3 advantage this year.

 

– With a home run on Thursday, Dustin Woodcock is two RBI's away from tying the Rafters record of 59, set by Jackson Slaid in 2015. 

 

– The most wins in a single season in Northwoods League history is 51, set by the Waterloo Bucks. With a win, the Rafters tie the mark. 

 

– Bryson Stott leads the league in hits with 94 while Ryan Stekl is right behind him in third with 87 base hits. 

 

First pitch on Friday at Rivets Stadium is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 6:20 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.