Wisconsin Rapids best Kenosha 4-3 to kick off the weekend series.

 

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Rafters bested the Kenosha Kingfish in a 4-3 win. Wisconsin Rapids moves to 10-8 and the Kingfish flounder to 7-11 on the season. This ranks the Rafters fourth in the South Division standings.

 

The Rafters were put in a hole when the Kingfish put up two in the fifth inning. Although Kenosha shut them down in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Rafters would answer with one in the sixth. Brody Wofford (Central Florida) started it off with a double and advanced to third on a ball put in play by Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV). Wofford was brought home by an RBI single from Mitch Mallek (St. Cloud State).

 

The Rafters trailed 2-1 until the bottom of the eighth inning when they rallied, adding three runs to pass the Kenosha Kingfish. Wold posted a two out base hit to start off the cranberry and gold rally. Josh Campbell (Stephen F. Austin) entered to pinch run after Wold advanced to second on a wild pitch. Campbell on Seth Mullis’s (UNLV) single. Mallek then added to the string of hits with an RBI double that scored Mullis. Matt Schmidt (Michigan) also posted an RBI double to score Mallek for a 4-2 Rafters lead.

 

During the ninth inning, the Rafters would use three pitchers and give up one run but would hold onto a 4-3 lead to beat the Kenosha Kingfish.

 

Mason McReaken (SIU-Edwardsville) earned the win with two innings pitched, facing seven batters and striking out three. Earning the save was Chandler Greenfield (Dixie State) who faced two batters with the bases loaded and closed the top of the ninth inning. Notably, Rafters starter Gareth Stroh (Purdue) pitched 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts. His performance earned him Pitcher of the Night honors from the Northwoods League.

 

Receiving the loss was Brady Kais. He gave up three hits and three runs in 0.2 innings pitched, allowing the Rafters to take the lead.

 

The Rafters take on the Kenosha Kingfish again at Witter Field tomorrow for the Father’s Day 4:05 p.m. start.

 

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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in 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, 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.raftersbaseball.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.