Wisconsin Rapids finished 19-17 on the road in the 2021 Season

Wausau, WI – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (38-33) put up double digits runs for the second time in three games, besting the Wisconsin Woodchucks (43-28) 10-3 in the final game away from Witter Field of the season.

In the first three innings, both teams struck out a combined nine times. Rafters’ starter Nathan Hemmerling (Lakeland) produced three.

The Woodchucks started the scoring with a solo home run, in the fourth inning. The Rafters more than just responded in the fifth, they scored six runs on four hits.

After a single and Woodchuck error, Blake Mann (St. Mary’s) worked a 10-pitch walk, that loaded the bases. Lance Gardiner (Saddleback) ripped a two-run double, followed by back-to-back RBI singles from McKinley Erves (LaGrange) and EJ Exposito (Long Island).

Erves would come around to score on a throwing error, and Exposito crossed the plate after a single up the middle from Jake Schulz (Dixie State).

Wisconsin Rapids put up more than six runs in an inning for the third time this week. On August 9th, the Rafters scored six in the seventh inning against the Woodchucks, and on August 11th facing the Green Bay Booyah, Wisconsin Rapids totaled seven runs in the first inning.

The Rafters tacked on an additional run in the sixth, with an Erves fielders’ choice that plated Mann. Erves now has 39 RBI as a Rafter and 10 in August.

Wisconsin Rapids tacked on a run in the eighth, and two in the ninth. Exposito delivered his fourth home run of the season over the left-field wall in the ninth. He leads the Rafters in longballs and has a team-best 49 RBI. Reeve Holley (Cal Baptist) had a four-hit day and generated the 13th and final Rafter hit.

Tanner Chafin (LaGrange) finished the game for the Wisconsin Rapids on the mound. After allowing a two-run homer in the sixth, the right-hander struck out three Woodchucks, and only two more base runners reached. Chafin earned the save, in his fourth appearance in the last five games.

Wisconsin Rapids’ final game of the 2021 season is tomorrow Saturday, August 14th, at Witter Field. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m., with fireworks after the final out. Coverage is on WFHR AM 1320 and the Northwoods League Baseball Network.