Wisconsin Rapids drops game two on the road, heads home to face Madison

As the playoff race continues to heat up, the first-place Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (20-12) took a tough 8-2 loss against the Kenosha Kingfish (18-15) Wednesday night.

The Rafters magic number to clinch a playoff spot and home field advantage is still three as there are just four games remaining in the regular season. Wiscosnin Rapids has a 1.5-game lead on Fond du Lac in the Great Lakes West Division.

The Rafters struck early and jumped out on top when Frankie Garriola scored on a wild pitch in the first inning. Osvaldo Tovalin brought Garriola home in the third on an RBI double to put the Rafters up 2-0.

Kenosha tied the game in the bottom of the inning and built an 8-2 lead over the next five frames, holding on to sweep the series. Mitch Apple earns the win for the Kingfish in one inning of relief.

Rafters starter Gareth Stroh struck out six batters in four innings as the starter, giving up just three hits. Cody Turner is credited with the loss, throwing 2.2 innings out of the bullpen.

When the team returns to Historic Witter Field Thursday, they will face the Madison Mallards with special entertainment by the ZOOperstars! presented by Aspirus Riverview Hospital and Clinics.

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.