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Rafters look to sweep a two-game series versus Fond du Lac after Billy Cook’s walk-off home run.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters take to the road on Saturday afternoon in Fond du Lac, to play the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders for the fourth time in 2020. Yesterday, the Rafters improved to 2-1 on the season series and 8-1 at Witter Field with a walk-off win over the Dock Spiders. Billy Cook was the hero, hitting a walk-off home run to lead off the ninth.
Today matches up the top-two batting teams in the Wisconsin-Illinois Pod. The Rafters have a .253 batting average, good for second in the pod behind the Dock Spiders. Coupled with the skilled offense, the Rafters have a Pod-leading 2.89 ERA, and 181 strikeouts as a pitching staff.
Today, the Rafters send Alex Salazar to the mound for his first start of 2020. The Japanese-born right-hander has appeared in four games, and has a 1.50 ERA, striking out ten batters in just six innings. The Dock Spiders send Washington University right-hander Ryan Loutos to the mound to start. Loutos has a 1-0 record with a 3.86 ERA in two appearances in 2020.
The Rafters are 12-5 for the season, first in the Wisconsin-Illinois Pod. The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders fell to 8-8 after last night’s loss, third in the Pod.
First pitch today is at 1:05pm from Herr-Baker Field. Coverage begins at 12:50pm on AM 1320 WFHR.
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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 proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 26th season, 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 230 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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.