Wisconsin Rapids withstands late-inning rally to beat Kokomo

The first-place Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (19-10) came from behind and held off a late rally to defeat the Kokomo Jackrabbits (10-20) 6-5 on Saturday night.

Facing a 2-0 deficit, Davion Downey crushed a bases-loaded full-count pitch to right field for a grand slam to put the Rafters up 4-2. Peter Matt scored on a wild pitch in the fourth and Richie Schiekofer posted an RBI single in the fifth to give the Rafters a 6-2 cushion heading to the eighth.

Kokomo posted three runs in the eighth inning until Brayden Bonner entered the game with the bases loaded and shut the door. Bonner pitched a clean ninth inning to earn his ninth save of the season.

Nathan Hemmerling struck out five in six innings of work as the starter for Rapids to earn the win. Wisconsin Rapids still sits in first place in the Great Lakes West Division with seven games remaining in the regular season.

Wisconsin Rapids will close the two-game set with Kokomo at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday, featuring a Fey Printing baseball card giveaway. The Rafters then hit the road for one game in Kenosha before the Major League Dreams Showcase on Tuesday.

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.