Rafters Announce 2019 Northwoods League Schedule

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.- The Rafters are coming off a 2018 campaign where they finished with 34 wins and ended up just shy of the playoff picture. The 2019 season will be one of most exciting in recent history to due to the fact it will be the franchises 10 anniversary season. Wisconsin Rapids will open their season on the road against the Rockford Rivets on Tuesday, May 28th next summer. This season will see the addition of 2 franchises joining the Northwoods League. Each of the 22 teams will play a 72-game regular season.

Due to the two additional teams, Traverse City Beach Bums and Kokomo Jackrabbits, the League has decided to realign each division. The North and South titles have been replaced with the Great Lakes and Great Plains Divisions. Each division is divided into two subdivisions, which are separated by an East and West.

The Division and Sub-Division breakout is as follows:

Great Plains West: Bismarck, Mankato, Rochester, St. Cloud, Willmar
Great Plains East: Duluth, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Thunder Bay, Waterloo

Great Lakes West: Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Lakeshore, Madison, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Rapids
Great Lakes East: Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Kenosha, Kokomo, Rockford, Traverse City

The League plays two halves to determine playoff participants, will end the first half of play on July 3^rd with the second half beginning the following day. This season, the 2019 Northwoods League All-Star game will take place in Waterloo, IA on July 16th. The 2019 All-Star game will be the 25^th All-Star game in the League’s history.

Highlights of the 2019 Rafters schedule include:

A wide assortment of dates to choose from: The Rafters will play four games on Mondays; six games on Tuesdays; six games on Wednesdays; eight games on Thursdays; five games on Fridays; four games on Saturdays; and three games on Sundays.
• The Rafters final home game of the regular season will be Friday, August 9th against the Madison Mallards for the always popular “Fan Appreciation Night”. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
• The Rafters and Wisconsin Woodchucks will participate in two home-home, day-night doubleheaders on June 11th and July 24th. Wisconsin Rapids will host the Woodchucks at Witter Field for a 11:35 am start in game one on Tuesday, June 11th and the night game will begin at 6:35 pm later that evening in Wausau. On Wednesday, July 24th, the Rafters will travel to Wausau for a day-night doubleheader starting at 11:35 am, then returning to Witter Field for the nightcap starting at 7:05 pm.
• The Major League Dreams Showcase event, featuring the top 100 prospects in the Northwoods League as chosen by a panel of major league scouts will return to Warner Park in Madison, WI for the sixth consecutive year on Tuesday, August 6th. The first game will begin at 4:05 pm, with game two set for 7:35 pm.

Solarus Founders Club ticket packages, all-you-can-eat 9-Game Packs, and group tickets are on sale now. There will be three 9-game packages to choose from in 2019, and the dates for those packages will be released soon. Please call the Rafters Front Office at 715-424-5400 for additional information.

Single-game ticket prices for the 2019 season will be $10 for a reserved bleacher seat, $9 for standing room only tickets and will go on sale Friday, April 19th of next year. The full promotional schedule for the 2019 Rafters season will be released in the spring as well.

If you’re still looking for a gift for the holidays, make sure to stop into the Rafters office at Witter Field. Ticket packages, merchandise, and gift cards are all available.

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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 Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 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.