Rafters survive late rally to take game two of doubleheader with Woodchucks

Wausau, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (8-8) rode a strong performance by Jake Dunham and survived a late rally by the Wisconsin Woodchucks (9-7) to win game two of a doubleheader Tuesday by a final of 5-2.

Dunham broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with a solo home run to left field. One inning later, Dunham hit a three-RBI double in a bases-loaded situation to put the Rafters up 4-0 heading to the eighth. Wisconsin Rapids added an insurance run with a Dunham RBI single in the top of the ninth.

The Woodchucks responded with two runs in the bottom of the ninth and threatened with the bases loaded, but Richie Schiekofer caught a long fly ball to left field to secure the win for the Rafters.

Rafters starter Nate Barnes pitched five shutout innings, striking out three batters and giving up just three hits on his way to earning the win. Garret French pitched three innings out of the bullpen for Rapids, giving up two hits.

Chris Sparks got the first out of the ninth inning and Jimmy Borzone pitched the rest of the way for the save. Woodchucks pitcher Myles Gayman gets the loss.

The Rafters travel to Fond Du Lac Wednesday for a 6:35 p.m. divisional game to open up the season series. The team then returns home Thursday for the Hunger Coalition food sculpture event “United We Can,” sponsored by United Way.

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.