Rapids scores early and opens homestand with win over Fondy

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (21-13) scored a pair of runs in the first inning and went on to win 5-1 to sweep the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (13-21) in the finale of a three-game series Sunday.

In the opening frame, Richie Schiekofer scored on a wild pitch and Davion Downey added an RBI single. In the fifth, the Rafters built a 5-0 lead with an RBI single by Jake Dunham and an RBI double by Downey.

Neil Abbatiello went six innings as the starter and winning pitcher, giving up two hits and pitching a shutout until the Dock Spiders scored their only run in the sixth inning. Hayden Petrovick pitched two clean innings and Brayden Bonner closed the game with two strikeouts in the final frame. Fond du Lac starter Houston Glad is credited with the loss.

The homestand continues for the Rafters on Monday as the team begins a two-game series with the Green Bay Booyah on Protective Services Night at Historic Witter Field.

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.