Rafters Finish Regular Season at Witter Field  

Wisconsin Rapids and Lakeshore play season finale 

 

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The 2017 regular season comes to a close as Wisconsin Rapids (51-20, 24-11) completes its 72 game schedule at Witter Field against Lakeshore (38-33, 20-16) on Sunday.   

 

The Chinooks defeated the Rafters 8-3 on Saturday to open the final series of the regular season. Lakeshore used a strong pitching performance from Austen Havekost (5-4) and early offense to pull the season series to 4-3, still in favor of the Rafters. With a win on Sunday, the Rafters claim the most wins in a single season in Northwoods League history. 

 

Set to counter the Rafters offense on the mound for the Chinooks is Aaron Winkler from Richmond. The freshman is 2-1 this season with a 4.35 ERA in 20 innings. In his last start, Winkler tossed 6 2/3 in a 7-5 win vs. Wisconsin. The Pound Ridge, New York native has pitched at least six innings in all three of his starts. He has 14 strikeouts with just four walks on the season. He faces a Rafters lineup hitting a league-high .283 on the season. 

 

Leading the Rafters offense in average is Stekl, who bats a clip of .365, second best in the Northwoods. Right behind Stekl is Bryson Stott hitting .348 and leading the league in hits with 97. The Rafters offense has four players hitting above .300 as Charlie McConnell (.330) and Dustin Woodcock (.315) join Stekl and Stott. Stekl, Stott and Woodcock have all been named to the Postseason All-Star Team announced by the Northwoods League early Sunday morning. 

 

First pitch on Sunday at Witter Field is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 3:50 p.m. on AM 1320 WFHR and WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network. Sunday is Founding Partners Fan Appreciation Night at the ballpark with great giveaways all night long for the Rafters last home game before the postseason.

 

 

 

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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.