Wisconsin Rapids went 38-34 in the 2021 season

Wisconsin Rapids, WI – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (38-34) finished their 2021 season, on a beautiful Saturday night at Witter Field. Wisconsin Rapids had both the tying and go-ahead runners on in the bottom of the ninth, but the Wisconsin Woodchucks (44-28) won 4-2.

Rafters’ starter Donovan Brandl (Wisconsin-Whitewater) made the final start. It was his final appearance in his second season in Rapids. The left-hander retired the first nine Woodchucks he faced.

The fourth inning saw three combined runs. The Woodchucks nabbed two runs on two Rafter errors, Wisconsin Rapids responded with a double steal with McKinley Erves (LaGrange) scoring and Ben Swords (Webster) stealing second.

In the sixth, Brandl retired two Woodchucks and left the game with one in scoring position. The Rudolph, WI, native finished 5.2 innings, with six strikeouts.

Later in the inning, Brock Watkins delivered a two-run RBI single to make it a 4-1 ball game.

Nick Torres (Long Island) took the ball in the seventh. The right-hander allowed only two baserunners and earned a strikeout. Torres made 19 appearances in 2021, allowing only four earned runs.

In the seventh and eighth, Wisconsin Rapids left a combined five runners on base. The bottom of the ninth began with the first three Rafters batters reaching base. With the bases loaded, McKinley Erves was the third Rafter in the inning, to be hit by a pitch bringing the score to 4-2. A flyout ended the game.

The Rafters finished with a 19-17 record at home, on the road, and in the first and second half of the season. This was the third winning season in a row for Wisconsin Rapids.

Witter Field’s next event will be Saturday, August 28th, when Larry Fleet will perform. The concert benefits the Never Forgotten Honor Flight, and gates will open at 6 p.m. Tickets are available on raftersbaseball.com.

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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