Ashwaubenon, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (0-2) are heading back to Witter Field needing to turn their start around after dropping Tuesday night’s game against the Green Bay Rockers (2-0) by a score of 13-1. The Rockers were led by a gem from starter Maddox Long (1-0), who dealt six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts before handing it off to the bullpen. For the Rafters, Noah Ruiz, Jack Guerrero and Hiroto Kobayashi all reached base multiple times, but couldn’t push Wisconsin Rapids to the win.
The two teams traded scoreless frames to start, but the Rockers broke the tie in the bottom of the second when Green Bay’s Joey Canzoni sent home Brayden Buchanan on a sac fly off Rafters starter Anthony Mateo (0-1). The Rockers then loaded the bases and added another run when Green Bay’s Brandon Rogers drew a hit by pitch, making it 2-0.
Neither team added a run in the third, but in the bottom of the fourth, the Rockers ripped the game wide open with five runs. After a single and a walk, Wisconsin Rapids’ Mateo was pulled from the game with Cannon Restine relieving him. From there, the Rockers loaded the bases and Green Bay’s Rogers drew a walk before Diego Urreta did the same, extending the lead to 4-0. After that, Restine was taken out of the game and Jack O’Brasky came in, but threw a wild pitch and allowed another run to cross. Green Bay’s Cooper Smith kept the runs coming with a two-RBI single off O’Brasky, making it 7-0 before the inning ended.
From that point, the offenses went quiet, and Green Bay’s Maddox Long was finally pulled from the game after 89 pitches to start the seventh inning. While the Rafters put on a pair of runners against Rockers reliever Aiden Ewe, they couldn’t score them.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh when another run scored, with Green Bay adding one off Rafters reliever Ashton Poole on an RBI groundout and another two on a fielding error from third baseman Luke Skinner, making it 10-0.
In the top of the eighth, the Rafters ended the shutout when Royce Clayton Jr. raced home on a wild pitch from Green Bay’s Ewe, cutting the deficit to 10-1.
The Rockers capped off the night with another trio of runs in the bottom of the eighth, one on a fielder’s choice, error and groundout off Wisconsin Rapids’ Poole.
Green Bay’s Simon Aluko closed it down in the ninth, allowing back-to-back hits before striking out three in a row to finish the game 13-1.
The Rafters dropped to tie for fifth in the subdivision with the loss while Green Bay jumps to sole possession of first. The Rafters play back-to-back games against the Wausau Woodchucks up next, with Wednesday night’s game at home starting at 6:35pm.