2 big innings and great defensive baseball results in a Rats win.

Wisconsin Rapids, Wi— It was another night of baseball and another Rafters win as they took down the Dock Spiders 6-1. Each team grabbed 6 hits, but it was 2 big innings for the Rats that decided it.

The Rafters grabbed 2 hits from De Goti and Johnson in the first 3 innings. Defensively, the rats acquired 9 straight outs and shut down the Dock Spiders. Calen Graham was leading the charge on the mound. He went 4 innings, allowed 1 hit, but acquired 4 K’s.

It was a big inning in the top of the 4th for the Rafters as Brendan Bobo got the bats rolling. He saw the 0-1 pitch and blitzed a ball into deep center field for his 9th home run of the season. After that, Garrett Broussard singled into right field followed by a base hit to left from Carlson. Conniff then perfectly executed a sac bunt into the 3rd base line which put the bases loaded with no outs. The catcher, Alex Duffey hit a ground out RBI into second and Broussard waltzed home. It was a wild 3rd run as Duffey stole second and was caught in a pickle that allowed Carlson to run on home and score unearned. Wisconsin Rapids jumped in front 3-0.

There were 2 more scoreless innings and thanks to Brycen Parrish who was given the ball as the Rafters reliever. He went 5 innings, allowed 5 hits, surrendered 1 run, and had 5 strikeouts. He had his best day yet on the mound and that was always a good sight to see. 

The dock spiders bullpen staff after Amar Tsengeg did not run very deep as the top of the 7th came around. Brewer and Johnson walked while Duffey was hit by a pitch. Jorge De Goti had a big day including an RBI single to bring in Brewer. The Panamanian, Orlando Lorduy, was hit by a pitch in his leg which allowed Duffey to walk home. Bobo stepped up once again as he hit a sac fly into deep right field and Johnson scored. It was a commanding 6-0 lead for the Rats.

Parrish finished off the game and gave up an unfortunate RBI in the bottom of the 9th from Jake Surnane. He slammed a ball into left field to send in Strickler. It did not matter as the Rats were already up 5 runs. Paul Smith flew out to center and that finished off the game. 

A big win for the Rafters as they grab their second in a row. It was a complete performance on both sides of the ball as they gave up no timely hits and were continuing to get big innings. Graham and Parrish had a great command on the mound and combined for 9 strikeouts. The Rats currently sit 2 games back of first and look to sweep the Dock Spiders tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 at Witter Field and it’s their last game before the all star break. 

For 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. Now in its’ 30^th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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 325 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 Raftersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods