Big bounce back win for the Rafters, take a game off Madison

 Wisconsin Rapids, WI— It was a great day to be a Rafter as the Rafters dominated the Mallards by a score of 9-1 to split the series. The Rafters had the bats rolling as they out hit Madison by a score of 11-2.

The Rafters got off to the races in the 2nd inning as they went up 1-0 from Chris Conniff getting home scoring unearned on a stolen base. They really started to roll in the 4th inning as Kyle Carlson hit a 2 run RBI double to center that sent Jack Basseer and Matt Olive home. The Rafters then extended their lead to 3-0.

The bats did not stop for the rats as Chris Conniff dropped a ball into shallow right center that sent Olive and Basseer home to add to the Rafters total of going up 6-0. As good as the Rafters were on the offensive side of the ball. The pitching was exceptional as Jacob Rosenkranz got the start on the mound and had 3 perfect innings. Allowing no hits, no one on base, and getting 9 straight outs. The pitching success did not stop as the Salem product, Sam Schmitt, took the mound. Sam had 4 strikeouts and only walked 2 batters. The Rafters continued to have success at the plate with Kyle Carlson having his second straight RbI that sent Basseer home. Levi Jensen followed it up with an RBI single to center field which allowed Shane Taylor to cross home plate. The Rafters acquired 3 hits and 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to go up 8 runs. 

Wisconsin Rapids had 3 errors but the timely strikeouts and the heads up plays from the infield allowed them to not give up any runs unearned. They played their best baseball of the year and played a complete game. With this win, improve their record to 3-5. This Rafters have a lot of talent and if they can put it together and play well on both sides of the ball, they will be dangerous going forward. 

The Rafters start a series vs the Wausau Woodchucks tomorrow. Both games are at home, first pitch is scheduled at 6:05 p.m.

Want to attend a Rafters game this season? Rafters 9-Game Ticket Packages are on sale now! For more information on all Rafters ticket offerings visit Raftersbaseball.com, call the Rafthouse at 715-424-5400, or come visit us over at historic Witter Field. The Box Office is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday at Witter Field, 521 Lincoln Street in Wisconsin Rapids.

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’ 30th 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 245 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.