Rafters Pitch Combined No-Hitter, First in Wisconsin Rapids History

Wisconsin Rapids, WI – Nathan Hemmerling (Lakeland) and Brayden Bonner (Dixie State) threw a combined no-hitter, the first in the Rafters 11-year history. Both, Bonner and Hemmerling, have been with the Rafters the last three summers.

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (34-32) won both games over the Battle Creek Bombers (22-44), on the day, 7-0 in game two and 4-0 in game one. Game two started an hour after the scheduled 5:05 p.m. first pitch time due to rain and saw no Bombers hits.

Brayden Bonner made his last appearance of his Rafters career. Bonner struck out three Bombers and retired all six he faced to complete the game. The all-time Rafters save leader finishes with 27 career saves.

“I couldn’t have wished for a better way to go out,” said Bonner. “The fan base here is awesome, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my last three summers anywhere else.”

Nathan Hemmerling got the game two start and started with three 1-2-3 innings. Only one base runner reached via an error in the fourth. Hemmerling finished with eight strikeouts.

“We all had faith in each other.” said Hemmerling “Great defense helps great pitching.”

Offensively the Rafters came through and scored three runs in the fourth and four in the sixth inning. Addie Burrow (Virginia) delivered a three-run home run in the sixth, his second of the season. Weston Eberly (Columbia) had a three-hit game, and Jake Schulz (Dixie State) blasted an RBI triple.

Game One

Game One saw a terrific pitching performance for William Haberstock (North Alabama). The right-hander went all seven innings, allowing only three base runners with none advancing into scoring position. Haberstock threw the first complete game for Wisconsin Rapids this season.

The Rafters scored four runs, three in the sixth inning. Burrow had a two-run single and McKinley Erves (LaGrange) an RBI single. Over 14 innings, the Bombers attained one hit.

Wisconsin Rapids head to Wausau tomorrow evening. The Rafters and Woodchucks will meet up for the ninth time this season. First pitch at Athletic Park is at 6:35 p.m. Coverage can be heard on WFHR AM 1320.

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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’ 27^th 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 250 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 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 Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). 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