Rafters pitchers strike out 13 Woodchucks, but bats fall flat in loss
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, well-rested from Tuesday’s off day, could not wake up the bats in a 3-1 loss on Wednesday night to the Wisconsin Woodchucks.
The Rafters (14-7) and Woodchucks (6-15) traded zeroes early. The Rafters’ Travis Adams started and pitched 3.1 innings, striking out six. The Woodchucks starter was USF’s Matt Taylor. Taylor battled his command, walking four batters over four innings, but held the Rafters off the board.
The scoreless tie was broken in the sixth with a two-run home run by Woodchucks centerfielder Brandon Seltzer. In response, the Rafters put the first two runners on base in the seventh when Parker Nolan and Roman Trujillo walked. Billy Cook’s flyout moved Nolan to third, with Andy Garriola at the plate. Garriola, who leads the league in RBIs, flied to left field, scoring Nolan on a sacrifice fly.
The Rafters loaded the bases in the ninth, down by two, but Ryan Walstad popped out to end the game. The Rafters stranded eleven runners on base for the game.
The Rafters return home Thursday to host the Woodchucks on Mid-State Technical College Blackout Night. The Rafters will be wearing special black jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game. Proceeds from the auction go to the Mid-State Foundation. First pitch is at 6:35pm.
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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. Having completed its’ 26th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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 230 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 (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.
