Rafters Break Northwoods Win Record on Sunday to Finish Regular Season

Dustin Woodcock sets record for most RBI’s in a single season in team history 

 

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The final game of the regular season saw three significant records broken by the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (52-20, 25-11) in a 9-2 victory on Sunday at Witter Field over the Lakeshore Chinooks (38-34, 20-17). 

 

With the win, the Rafters notch the most wins for a team in a single season in Northwoods League history. Dustin Woodcock recorded his 61st RBI of the year with a three-run double, breaking the single season record set by Jackson Slaid in 2013. In the eighth inning, Bryson Stott hit a single up the middle to record his 100th base knock of the season. 

 

With the bases loaded, the Chinooks jumped out to an early lead in the second on a sacrifice fly from Nick Pierce. 

 

Wisconsin Rapids answered with two runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Jared Nelson poked a ground ball through the hole on the right side of the infield to score the first run of the inning, bringing Woodcock in to score. With the bases loaded, Charlie McConnell took a pitch on the right arm to plate the second run of the inning.

 

Daniel DeSimone tied the game with one swing of the bat in the sixth inning. The Chinook first baseman sent his seventh home run of the year over the wall in left-center to even the game at two.

 

With the bases loaded in the seventh Ryan Stekl grounded into a double play, but McConnell scored to give the Rafters a 3-2 lead. Alex Holderbach drove in the second run of the inning on a single to center to bring Nick Anderson in from third.

 

The eighth inning saw two moments that will go down in history in the Rafter’s record books. Bryson Stott tallied his 100th hit in a Rafter uniform this season and drove in McConnell to add an insurance run to the Rafter lead. Later in the frame, Dustin Woodcock knocked in three with a double to center to record his 61st RBI, a new single season record in Rafters history. Holderbach drove in his second run of the day to end the scoring and pad the Rafters led to 9-2. 

 

Jack Nelson (1-0) earned the win for the Rafters, tossing two innings of scoreless baseball with three strikeouts. Aidan Wojchiehowski (0-1) is tagged with the loss for Lakeshore.

 

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and Lakeshore Chinooks meet Monday in the first round of the South Divisional Playoffs at Witter Field. First pitch for the single elimination game is set for 7:05 p.m., with gates opening at 6:05 p.m. Tickets are still available for Monday’s game and first fans in attendance will receive a playoff rally towel. The winner will face the winner of Battle Creek and Rockford on Tuesday, with a chance to advance to the Summer Collegiate World Series.

 

 

 

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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 (LAD) and Lucas Duda (TB).  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.