FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Many times, in life, humans can focus too much on what is behind them instead of what is in front of them.  Well, the Rafters historic 2022 regular season is now behind them after a 10-4 loss to the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. 

Both teams were retired three up and three down in the first inning, as Rafters starting pitcher Brandon Scott sat the Dock Spiders down on only 12 pitches in the home half of the first.  Scott held Fondy scoreless again in the bottom of the second, but the Dock Spiders finally struck in the bottom of the third.  An RBI sacrifice fly put the Dock Spiders up 1-0.  Scott held Fondy scoreless again in the bottom of the fourth to finish his night.  He threw four innings while allowing one run (unearned) on four hits, no walks, and three strikeouts. 

Dawson Holbrook entered to pitch for the Rafters in the home half of the fifth.  The Dock Spiders offense struck for five runs in the home half of the fifth, including a two-run single by Brady Katterhagen that put the Dock Spiders ahead 6-0.  Holbrook only recorded two outs in the inning, as Ethan Peters recorded the final outs for the Rafters in the inning. 

An RBI triple from Colin Tuft in the top half of the sixth put the Rafters first run on the board, 6-1.  Ethan Peters finished his night with a scoreless bottom of the sixth on the mound.  A Chris Conniff RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh brought the Rafters back within four, 6-2.  However, the Dock Spiders struck for three more in the bottom of the seventh off Rafters reliever Angel Medina to make it a 9-2 game. 

A Jacob Igawa two-run homer, his fifth of the season, in the top of the eighth made it a 9-4 game, as the Rafters still trailed by five.  Alec Mendoza gave up one earned run to Fondy in the bottom of the eighth, as this gave the Dock Spiders their six-run lead back, 10-4.  The Rafters were held scoreless in the top of the ninth to end the game.  Brandon Scott was awarded the loss for the Rafters, while Trey Seeley earned the win for the Dock Spiders. 

The Rafters (57-15) will travel to Wausau tomorrow night to play the Woodchucks (38-33) to begin the first round of the Northwoods League Playoffs.  The best-of-three series can be heard on the home of Rafters Baseball, 1320 AM/97.5 FM WFHR, with the radio voice of the Rafters, Brett Loftis. 

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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. Now in its’ 29th 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, 300 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 (NYM), 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 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. 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.