MEQUON, Wis. – As a wise man once said, “You can never make a first impression for a second time.” Brendan Bobo made a very good first impression as he hit two homers in his Rafters debut to power the Rats to a 6-4 win over the Lakeshore Chinooks in Mequon, WI.
The Rats bats started early tonight, as in the top of the first Jacob Igawa knocked in Tommy Barth for the Rafters first run of the night. Marco Castillo drove in Chris Conniff to make it a 2-0 score at the conclusion of the first. Nathan “Hammer” Hemmerling was perfect through his three innings to start the ballgame. He struck out four Chinooks along the way while only throwing 33 pitches.
Third baseman Brendan Bobo hit his first homer as a Rafter in the top of the fourth to give the Rats a 3-0 lead. Grant Manning assumed pitching duties in the bottom half of the fourth and picked up right where Hammer left off. Manning threw two perfect innings in the fourth and fifth, as the Rafters had a team perfect game through five innings. In the sixth, Jack Rogers pinch hit for Harry Owen as he roped a double off the right-center fielder wall that brought Seth Stroh home to give the Rafters a 4-0 lead. Payton Sanderson broke up the perfect game in the bottom of the sixth, as the Chinooks struck for their first run in the bottom of the sixth.
After a scoreless top of the seventh for the Rats, Jacob James assumed the pitching rubber for the Rafters and the Chinooks assumed the scoring duties. They scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Rafters still exited the inning with a 4-3 lead. Wisconsin Rapids was held scoreless again in the top of the eighth, as the Chinooks were able to tie in the bottom half at 4-4. No worries for the Rats, as after a Jack Rogers leadoff walk in the top of the ninth Brendan Bobo launched a baseball that landed back in Wisconsin Rapids to give the Rafters a 6-4 lead. Preston Howey picked up the save after a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, and Josh Howitt picked up the win.
The Rafters play tomorrow at 1:05 pm at Witter Field against the Wausau Woodchucks. Watch the game on the Northwoods League Baseball Network with Carter Gledhill or listen on WFHR 1320 AM/97.5 FM with Brett Loftis.
###
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’ 28th 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 280 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. 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.
