By Lance Roth

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. — The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (16-39) fell behind early and could not recover, dropping a 13-6 decision to the Lakeshore Chinooks (33-22) Friday night at Historic Witter Field.

Lakeshore totaled 17 hits and scored in six of the first seven innings, building a 13-5 lead before the Rafters added a late run in the ninth. Nick Allred delivered the biggest swing of the night, while Jack Counsell and Sam Myers also helped pace the Chinooks’ offense.

The Chinooks took a 1-0 lead in the second inning before adding another run in the third and one more in the fourth. Lakeshore then broke the game open with a three-run fifth inning and added four more runs in the sixth.

Wisconsin Rapids mounted a brief comeback in the middle innings, scoring twice in the fourth before adding three more runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-5.

Nolan Stevens started the fourth-inning rally with a single to right, and Gunnar Dillard followed with a double to right. Danny Gavin then drove in both runners with a two-run single.

Gavin struck again in the fifth, driving in two more runs with another single to give him four RBIs on the night.

The offensive push was not enough to keep pace with Lakeshore, which answered with four runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to pull away.

Allred provided the biggest blow of the night in the fifth inning and finished with five RBIs on three hits. Counsell collected four hits, drove in two runs and scored twice, while Myers added three hits and scored twice.

Wisconsin Rapids finished with nine hits, led by Josiah Palomino, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Dillard added two hits and an RBI, while Gavin finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs.

Gage Honeyager took the loss for the Rafters after allowing eight runs on 10 hits over 5.1 innings. Honeyager struck out three and walked five while throwing 112 pitches.

Isaac Mitsdarffer followed with 0.2 innings, allowing three hits and two unearned runs. Blaine Davis allowed three runs in the seventh before Josh Novak and Mikey Hotinski combined for two scoreless innings to finish the game. Hotinski struck out one in the ninth.

The Rafters will look to bounce back Saturday as they finish their homestand against the Lakeshore Chinooks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Historic Witter Field.