Wisconsin Rapids jumped out to an early lead and rallied late, but ultimately lost to Lakeshore

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (15-11) scored first and rallied late, but came up short in a tight 3-2 loss to the Lakeshore Chinooks (9-18) Saturday.

CJ Willis put the Rafters on the board in the top of the first with an RBI single that scored Richie Schiekofer. Lakeshore answered with an RBI groundout in the third to tie the game. The Chinooks later added two more runs in the sixth inning to take a 3-1 lead.

In the eighth, the Rafters pulled within one run on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Galason. Wisconsin Rapids put the tying run in scoring position with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, but failed to bring him home.

Rafters starter Matt Osterberg pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and striking out five. Osterberg receives his first loss of the season. Jimmy Borzone had an impressive outing in relief. He threw 2.2 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Lakeshore’s Tony Grabowske gets the win in relief.

The Rafters close the series with Lakeshore Sunday at 5:05 p.m. The team’s next home game at Historic Witter Field will be Tuesday, June 25, for Skyward Educators Appreciation Night and an appearance by former Green Bay Packer and NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer.

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.