Mequon, Wis. – Late-inning runs were the story of the night as the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (3-5) claimed a 16-9 win over the Lakeshore Chinooks (1-7) Monday evening in Mequon. It was back and forth through the first seven innings, but Wisconsin Rapids poured it on in the final two to lock in the win. The Rafters were led by a 4-4 game from Mason Onate and 3-3 game from Ashton Zacher, but it was Espn Simpson’s three innings without an earned run that finished off the game.
The Rats scored first when Wisconsin Rapids’ Onate scored on a Jack Guerrero sac fly off Chinooks starter Bobby Perebzak.
Lakeshore responded with a big bottom half of the inning, taking a three-run lead after a wild pitch, run-scoring double play, and two-RBI single from Dylan Sayles off Rafters’ starter Brennan Cohen, giving the Chinooks a 4-1 lead.
The gap grew to 5-1 at the end of the second thanks to an RBI grounder from Lakeshore’s Drew Reynolds off Wisconsin Rapids’ Cohen.
From there, the Rafters began a slow comeback, starting with one run in the third on Ashton Zacher’s RBI single off Lakeshore’s Perebzak, cutting the lead to 5-2.
In the top of the third, Jack O’Brasky relieved Cohen and shut down the Chinooks with a scoreless frame.
The Rafters kept the momentum in the top of the fourth, adding a pair of runs on a sac fly from Nick Adrian and wild pitch from Lakeshore’s Perebzak.
O’Brasky had another shutout inning for Wisconsin Rapids in the fourth, allowing the Rafters to tie it up on Nick Adrian’s bases-loaded walk from Chinooks reliever Nate Ciemny.
Wisconsin Rapids turned to Ashton Poole in the fifth, but a sac fly from Jack Kleveno gave the lead back to the Chinooks 6-5.
Both teams swapped one-run innings in the sixth as well, with Ashton Zacher picking up an RBI single off Ciemny for the Rafters and Dylan Sayles knocking a sac fly off Rafters reliever Cannon Restine (1-0) for the Chinooks.
From there, the Rafters took charge, starting with a pinch-hit game-tying RBI single from Wisconsin Rapids’ Noah Ruiz before Royce Clayton Jr. picked up a go-ahead RBI single off Lakeshore reliever Arthur Liebau (0-1), making it an 8-7 Rafters lead.
Espn Simpson came in for Wisconsin Rapids in the bottom of the seventh and had a perfect frame.
The Rafters followed with another big inning, adding three runs in the eighth on a two-run shot from Guerrero and sac fly from Luke Skinner off Chinooks reliever Jacob Jacome, extending the lead to 11-7.
Another scoreless frame from Simpson helped the Rafters blow the game wide open with a five-run ninth. Jack Guerrero picked up an RBI on a groundout, then Brent Gallegos scored on a wild pitch, Chris Diaz ripped an RBI triple, and Luke Skinner launched a two-run bomb over the right field wall off Lakeshore’s Jacome to make it 16-7.
The Chinooks squeaked by two more runs thanks to an error from Skinner with two outs, but Simpson finished them off with a strikeout to complete the three-inning save (1).
Half a game is all that separates the Rafters from Fond du Lac in the Great Lakes West after the night as Wisconsin Rapids improves to 3-5. Lakeshore drops to 1-7 and stays alone in last place in the subdivision. The Rafters will host the Dock Spiders Tuesday evening for the first game of a five-game homestand. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm and will be broadcast on NWL+ and WFHR 97.5 FM/1320 AM.