Wisconsin Rapids hangs tight with Chinooks through eight innings

The first-place Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (18-10) rallied to tie the game twice, but ultimately fell 8-2 against the Lakeshore Chinooks (15-13) to split the series Friday night.

Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, Aidan Huggins hit his first home run of the season with a solo shot to left field that leveled the score. Down by one again in the sixth, Frankie Garriola scored on a ball put in play by Jake Dunham to tie it 2-2.

The game remained tied into the ninth inning where Lakeshore rallied to post six runs and hung on to win. Neil Abbatiello gave up just four hits in 6.2 innings and Izzy Fuentes gets the loss for Rapids. Lakeshore’s Brendan McGuigan is credited with the win.

The Rafters now have a three-game lead on Lakeshore and Fond du Lac for first place in the Great Lakes West Division with eight games remaining. The magic number for Rapids to clinch a playoff spot is currently six.

Wisconsin Rapids closes a four-game homestand with two games against the Kokomo Jackrabbits starting on Saturday, featuring a postgame fireworks show presented by Budweiser.

As the Rafters gear up for a late-season run, you can experience the postseason action firsthand. For more information on playoff ticket offerings visit Raftersbaseball.com, call the Rafthouse at 715-424-5400, or visit 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.