The Rafters dropped a pair of crucial games against divisional foe Wausau, drop to second place in Great Lakes West

Wisconsin Rapids, WI– The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters fell in both games of their doubleheader with the Wausau Woodchucks, falling 3-2 in the first game and 5-3 in the nightcap. The Rafters were outhit by Wausau by a combined tally of 17-11 in the two games Saturday night. 

In game one, the two sides picked up where they left off on Friday, July 28th with the game starting in the bottom of the second with two outs and Anthony Galason at the plate for the Rafters. Galason would ground out to shortstop to kickstart the resumption. 

In the third inning, Wausau took advantage of a clean slate against the Rafter pitching staff, as after Will Haberstock got the leadoff man to strikeout swinging, Wausau’s Evan Funkhouser would work a walk and would steal second base in the ensuing at-bat. With a runner on second, Dwight Allen singled to right field, scoring Funkhouser from second base. Wausau would proceed to load the bases behind two singles from Michael Maginnis and Christian Mitchelle all while Allen was still on the bases. With them loaded, Andrew Jimenez came up to the dish and worked a crucial walk to make it a 2-0 game for Wausau, and with the energy in their dugout, it appeared they would cruise their way to victory in game one. 

But at times it looked like the Wausau lead would be in doubt. Ty Johnson led off the home half of the fourth and clobbered the 1-1 breaking ball from Henry Cone over the wall in right field for a solo home run, making it a 2-1 game.

The Woodchucks would grab the run back not even a full inning later. In the top of the fifth inning and with one out, Michael Maginnis would crack a double to left field and would come across to score on the next at-bat because of an RBI single from Christian Mitchelle that got by the leaping James Bornick at first base and found its way to right field. 

A couple of innings later, the Rafters would have a response to the now two-run deficit they were in. In the bottom of the seventh, Brendan Bobo led off the frame with a towering 376-foot home run to right field, making it a one-run game. The Rafters had the momentum but could never capitalize on it, and it’s because of the phenomenal work on the mound by Wausau starter Henry Cone. 

The right-handed pitcher shut down the Rafters through 7.1 innings on the bump. He allowed the pair of solo home runs and limited the red-hot Rafter lineup to six hits while striking out five of them. Cone’s longest outing of the summer led to his first decision of the summer, a 3-2 win over the leaders of the Great Lakes West. 

Game two of the doubleheader featured the two sides playing a seven-inning contest, and for the Rafters once the bats were cooled in game one, warming them up in game two was not easy. The Rafters first hit in the second game didn’t come until the fourth inning and at that point, the Rats were already behind.  

Wausau used all the momentum they had from winning game one and used it to their advantage to get off to a great start in the second billing. With two outs in the top of the first, Michael Maginnis would work a walk against Wisconsin Rapids’ starter Mitchell Wittkamp. The next batter, Andrew Jimenez, would do the same thing. With two on and two out and Trent Van Ess at the plate, Maginnis would steal third base and during the play, Rafter Catcher Alex Duffey threw the ball in the dirt and it got by the third baseman Kyle Carlson, allowing Maginnis to trot home with the game’s first run. 

Wausau would expand their lead with a run in both the third and fourth inning. In the third, Maginnis and Jimenez would team up with back-to-back singles to start the inning. After a perfect sacrifice bunt by Van Ess allowing both runners to advance, the catcher Carson Richter walked to load the bases. With only one out, Ryan Blanchard would hit a chopper to third baseman Kyle Carlson, Carlson would race to the bag at third and beat the incoming runner Jimenez for the out. While this was happening, Michael Maginnis was able to score on the play, making it a 2-0 Woodchuck lead. 

Wausau would tack on two more runs in the fourth inning to pile onto their advantage. Dwight Allen led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a groundout by the next batter Michael Adair. With Christian Mitchelle at the plate, Allen would advance to third on a passed ball and came across to score on a Mitchelle RBI single to center field. Later in the frame, with runners on first and second Andrew Jimenez came through again, driving a ball back up the middle to score Mitchelle from second base. 

Wisconsin Rapids would proceed to score three unanswered across their next two innings at the plate, cutting the deficit to one. In the bottom of the fourth, following a leadoff single by Brendan Bobo and a hit-by-pitch by Orlando Lorduy, who would both advance a free 90 feet due to a balk on Chandler Freeman, James Bornick would come up to hit with just one out. Bornick would send a ball to the opposite field scoring Bobo while Lorduy was held at third. In the ensuing at-bat, Lorduy would come across to score on a wild pitch. Making it a 4-2 ballgame. 

In the fifth inning, the Rafters would benefit from the longball yet again, as Ty Johnson sent a ball over the wall in right-center field, cutting the Wausau lead to one. With all the momentum heading into the sixth inning, Rafter fans thought this had the makings of being another special night at Witter Field, but the Woodchucks had other ideas. 

In the sixth, the first three hitters for Wausau reached base, and with runners on first and third with two out, Carson Richter came through with his first RBI as a Woodchuck, scoring Michael Maginnis from third. Wausau stole the momentum back from the Rafters and never looked back. Closing the door in the sixth and seventh innings to win the ballgame, 5-3. 

The pair of Rafter losses means they drop to 36-29 (16-13 in the second half) and have fallen into a tie with Green Bay for second place in the division, one game behind first-place Madison. Wisconsin Rapids will have a chance to avenge their doubleheader performance with a game on the road at Athletic Park in Wausau. The ballgame is slated for 1:05 pm. 

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