The Rafters Team Report is a weekly update of your 2018 Wisconsin Rapids Rafters players in their spring seasons. Stay tuned each week for news and stats on players.

By: Ray Jensen

The postseason is in full swing as the Rafters-to-be gear up for conference tournaments and NCAA Regionals. For some, the spring season is over and they will begin to make their way to Wisconsin Rapids to don cranberry and gold. The season opener is just over a week away so keep up on how the guys have performed and get excited for what’s to come:

Jonathan Hernandez and the Chapman Panthers (35-13, SCIAC 15-9) were eliminated from the NCAA Division III Championship tournament this week with losses to Willamette and Texas-Dallas in the double-elimination style NCAA Regionals. Hernandez took over after a six-run 2^nd inning by the Comets and threw 6.1 scoreless relief innings with four strikeouts. The Panthers’ bats were limited to one run as the Chapman fell by a final of 6-2.  Congrats to the Panthers on a successful season. Hernandez ends his spring season with a 3-1 record and two saves with a 3.14 ERA. The junior struck out 40 in 48.2 innings pitched across 17 appearances and one start.

Gareth Stroh started Friday’s game against the Michigan Wolverines in a rain-shortened outing. Stroh tossed 3.1 innings while fanning three. The Boilermakers eventually earned the win the next day after the game was suspended in the bottom of the eighth. Purdue (34-18, BIG 10 17-6) swept Michigan in their final three regular season games to earn them second place in the BIG 10. Purdue clashes with Ohio State in the opening round of the BIG 10 tournament on Wednesday. Stroh ends the regular season with a 5-2 record across 61.2 innings pitched in 14 starts.

Stephen F. Austin (17-36, Southland 9-21) ended their season on a four-game losing streak with losses to TCU and Houston Baptist. In better news, Josh Campbell ended his season on a five-game hitting streak and had his best night against Houston Baptist on Thursday. The sophomore went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Campbell ends his second college season with the second-best batting average on the team (.313), 54 hits, seven doubles, a home run, 25 runs scored and 23 runs driven in. Trayson Kubo started at home Tuesday vs. TCU and pitched in relief on Saturday at Houston Baptist. Kubo threw 4.2 innings across his start and relief appearance and struck out six. The junior made 21 relief appearances and three starts throwing a total of 31 innings and striking out 34 in the 2018 season.

Hunter Waldis did not make an appearance this week but cheered on his fellow Seton Hall Pirates (27-18-1 , BIG EAST 13-4) to a sweep of Georgetown in the regular season finale. It was a small sample size for Waldis in his freshman regular season but still impressive, throwing 15 strikeouts in eight innings pitched through eight appearances. Waldis’ season is not finished as the Pirates are the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST tournament and square off against No. 3 seeded Butler on Thursday in Mason, Ohio.

Josh Winkler and the Northeastern Huskies (33-17, CAA 17-6) had their final game rained out, but all was not lost. Northeastern handled the Delaware Blue Hens on Thursday and Friday outscoring them 15-2 in the abbreviated series. The Huskies enter the CAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will face either Delaware or UNCW on Thursday. Winkler threw 12.2 innings of relief this year along with eight strikeouts.

Tommy Szczasny and Northern Illinois University Huskies (20-36, MAC 9-18) saw their season end on Saturday, but on a positive note as they defeated Eastern Michigan Unversity 6-3 in 11 innings.  Szczasny batted .417 in the final week with nine hits, two runs scored, two RBIs, a double and a home run. The Tinley Park, Illinois native ends his second college season with a .266/.359/.360 slash line, 54 hits, 11 extra-base hits (six doubles, two triples and three homers), 29 runs scored and 21 RBIs.

University of Central Florida (35-19, American 13-10) had two of their final four games cancelled but won the two they played. Tyler Osik ends the regular season with a .307/.392/.490 line. His .490 slugging percentage is the second highest on the squad. Osik collected 59 hits, six doubles, a triple and nine home runs. The junior drove in 54 runs while scoring 27 himself. Brody Wofford earned 17 hits, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored in 31 games and the third best fielding percentage on the team (.971). The UCF Knights are the No. 5 seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament and face East Carolina University in the opening round on Tuesday May 22^nd.

SIU Edwardsville (15-37, OVC 6-24) concluded their season on Saturday. It was a long final week for the Cougars as two of their final three games had to be decided in extra innings. Mason McReaken threw 2.2 total innings with five strikeouts. McReaken ends his senior year with a 3-2 record with six saves and an impressive 50 strikeouts in 33.1 innings.  McReaken had 47 punchouts in 2017 but it took 46.1 innings to reach that number. In his collegiate career, McReaken sports a 12-12 record, a 3.89 ERA, 21 saves and 187 strikeouts in 179.1 innings pitched. Bret Fehr excelled in the field. He committed only two errors all year and lead all Cougar outfielders in assists.

UNLV (33-22, Mountain West 14-16) will go to the Mountain West Championship tournament as the No. 4 seed after a 1-2 week against Fresno State. The Rebels will play the No. 1 seed University of Nevada-Reno Thursday afternoon. Jack-Thomas Wold ends the regular season with a .313 average, 61 hits, 10 doubles, five home runs, 28 RBIs and 31 runs scored. Seth Mullis collected 19 hits and scored 17 times with .980 fielding percentage behind the dish in 34 regular season games.

Texas A&M (36-19, SEC 13-17) split their final four games of the regular season including a series loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. Will Frizzell ends the regular season with a .289/.355/.497 slash line. The freshman smashed 48 hits; 16 for extra bases (10 doubles and six home runs). Frizzell scored 27 times and drove in 31 runs. The Aggies are in the SEC Tournament as the No. 11 seed and face No. 6 Vanderbilt in a win-or-go home game on Tuesday.

Newly signed outfielder Ethan Stringer and the Louisville Cardinals (40-16, ACC 18-12) enjoyed a sweep of Notre Dame to conclude the regular season. Stringer batted .290 in his first full season of collegiate action while collecting 27 hits, six doubles and three home runs. The sophomore also batted in 18 and scored 18 times in 38 games. In the 2018 ACC Tournament, the No. 5 seed Cardinals are in Pool D and will face No. 9 Wake Forest on Tuesday followed by No. 4 Duke on Friday in Pool Play. The Winner of Pool D will face the Winner of Pool A (UNC, Georgia Tech or Pitt) on Saturday.

Moving the focus to Cardinals of a different sort, Lamar University (19-36, Southland 13-17) swept McNeese State at home to end 2018. Payton Robertson sported a quality glove for Lamar with 27 putouts and 40 assists while turning eight double plays. Robertson will have more playing time in next season as the Cardinals lose seniors Grant DeVore and Phillip Ingram to graduation.

Jarrod Watkins tallied seven hits, scored three times and batted in six as the Sycamores swept Valparaiso in three games on the road to end the regular season. Watkins batted .314, nailed 65 hits, drove in 18 and scored 32 times in the regular season. The junior worked 26 walks and struck out only 18 times in 207 at bats. Indiana State (29-22, The Valley 11-10) enters the Missouri Valley Conference Tourney as the No. 4 seed and faces Southern Illinois on Wednesday.

Ty Duvall got the start behind the dish on Tuesday vs. Middle Tennessee State. Duvall went 2-for-3 while scoring three runs, batting in a run and earning three walks. Justin Wilson worked a scoreless eighth and struck out one in Tuesday’s game. Duvall tallied 15 hits, 13 runs scored and 9 RBIs in just 26 games. Duvall also committed just one error in 155 total chances. Wilson posted a 2.84 ERA in seven appearances. The righty struck out nine in 6.1 while walking four. Vanderbilt (31-24, SEC 16-14) enters the SEC Tournament on Tuesday as the No. 6 seed. The Commodores face No. 11 Texas A&M in the single-elimination round. The winner gets to face the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs in the next round.

Steven Rivas made a pinch hitter appearance and struck out on Sunday as Long Beach State (26-28, Big West 11-10) faced Hawai’i in Honolulu. The Dirtbags took two of three from the ‘Bows and finish the regular season at home hosting Cal State Fullerton in a three-game set.

The 2018 Wisconsin Rapids Rafters will begin their season on the road against the Madison Mallards on Tuesday, May 29^th. The Home Opener is slated for Friday, June 1^st against the Wisconsin Woodchucks. The entire 2018 Rafters schedule is available at www.raftersbaseball.com.

 

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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.wisconsinrapidsrafters.com 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.