Following shutout win, Rafters look to take series lead against Chinooks

Grafton, Wis. – After shutting out the Lakeshore Chinooks (2-8) 7-0 at home on Thursday night, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (4-6) look to pick up their second-straight win as the series shifts to Lakeshore.

The Rafters offense struck early with two runs in the first inning and never looked back on their way to a seven-run performance. Johnny Gonzales led the way, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The defense held up their end on a combined shutout from Neil Abbatiello and Nate Barnes. Abbatiello struck out nine batters in five innings as the starter and was named Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night.

The Wisconsin Rapids pitching staff is third in the league in ERA out of the twenty-two teams. Trevor Tietz is projected to start for Lakeshore in his third appearance and second start of the season. He has a 2.57 ERA and four strikeouts through seven innings of work.

The Rafters close out a four-game series with Lakeshore tonight and Saturday night as Wisconsin Rapids goes for their first series win of the season.

Want to attend a Rafters game this season? Single-game tickets are on sale now. For more information on all Rafters ticket offerings visit Raftersbaseball.com, call the Rafthouse at 715-424-5400, or come visit us over at historic Witter Field. The Rafters ticket office is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday at Witter Field, 521 Lincoln Street in Wisconsin Rapids.

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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.