Rapids looks to close in on playoff spot in game against Madison

After taking game one, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (20-12) go for a critical series sweep over the Madison Mallards (16-17) in game two Friday night.

The Rafters currently have a 1.5-game lead over Fond du Lac in the Great Lakes West Division. Having already locked up home-field advantage, the Rafters magic number to clinch a playoff spot is two. Tonight’s matchup wraps up the season series between Rapids and Madison. The Rafters have a 7-4 advantage in the series.

Wisconsin Rapids overcame an early deficit to pick up a 5-2 victory Thursday. Matt Oldham and Jake Dunham both had home runs in the game. Starting pitcher Neil Abbatiello fanned 10 batters in six innings of work.

Nathan Hemmerling is projected to start for Rapids tonight. The freshman righty leads the team with seven wins the season and holds a 7-2 record with a 2.19 ERA. Madison is expected to give the nod to Trevor Marreel, who is 3-5 and has a 6.48 ERA this summer.

Wisconsin Rapids closes out the regular-season portion of their 10^thAnniversary Season with a road series in Lakeshore. Game one is Saturday at 6:35 p.m. and the finale is Sunday at 5:05 p.m.

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.