The Rafters Team Report is a weekly update of your 2018 Wisconsin Rapids Rafters players in their spring seasons. Stay tuned each week for news and stats on players
Everyone dealt with one less hour of sleep this weekend with daylights savings starting again. But despite the somber Monday this yearly event typically causes, it is a sign of good things to come. It signals that winter is almost over (March 20th to be exact) and regular season baseball is just around the corner. While the Rafters’ season kicks off in 77 days, May 29th will be here sooner than you know it. Here is what the Rafters-to-be have been up to in Week 3 of our team report.
Charlie Ruegger had a gutsy performance against No. 17 ranked in D III, Johns Hopkins on Sunday. Despite giving up 14 hits, Ruegger only allowed four runs in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two in his first win of the season. Chandler Brierly did not make an appearance this week. Sunday’s contest at Johns Hopkins kicked off a six-game road trip with stops in Alabama and Georgia. Brierly, Ruegger and the rest of Stevens Tech Ducks continue the trip on Tuesday in Demorest, Georgia facing Piedmont College.
Chapman University went 2-1 this week to improve to 10-6 and Jonathan Hernandez was a pivotal part of the Panther’s win on Saturday. Hernandez pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, struck out two and earned his first save of the season. In just 10 2/3 relief innings this season, Hernandez has 13 strikeouts.
After a rough start to their season, the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks enjoyed a 3-1 week. Josh Campbell netted the go-ahead RBI in the third inning against Louisiana-Monroe on Friday. Campbell has cooled off after a hot start. The sophomore is hitting .235 with eight hits, five RBIs and a home run. However, he is already 2-for-3 on stolen base attempts this season. Campbell was 4-for-7 during his freshman campaign. Trayson Kubo threw a total of two innings of relief this week. His best performance came on Tuesday facing Texas Southern. Kubo pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.
Despite the team going 1-3 on the week, Bret Fehr had a productive week for SIU Edwardsville. Fehr hit .275 with five hits, one double, two RBIs and a stolen base. Fehr had a two RBI performance in the Cougars’ extra innings win over Murray State in game one of a Friday doubleheader which kicked off the teams’ Ohio Valley Conference slate. Mason McReaken was excellent as well in the Friday doubleheader. He closed game one with a 1-2-3 10th inning including two strikeouts for his third save of the year.
Will Frizzell helped the No. 9 ranked Texas A&M Aggies extend their winning streak to seven games. Frizzell keeps finding ways to put the ball in play. The freshman hit .356 this week, snagged five hits, scored three runs and collected four RBIs. Frizzell had a three RBI performance against Northwestern State on Tuesday. All it took was one swing, as the freshman cleared the bases in the sixth with a three-run double to center.
Indiana State is wrapping up a three-game series at home hosting Western Illinois. Jarrod Watkins hit .292 and collected two hits, one RBI and scored once in the first two games against Western Illinois. Watkins’ glove has been as consistent as his bat. Watkins is 63-for-66 in fielding chances. All three errors came March 2nd in a loss to Austin Peay.
Steven Rivas made a start in left field and a pinch hitter appearance this week for Long Beach State. Rivas went 1-for-3 in his start on Friday at Texas A&M. He has a slash line of .267/.353/.333 in seven games this season and has made the most of his chances with four hits, four RBIs and four walks in just 15 at bats.
Ty Duvall did not see action this week behind the plate but supported his Vanderbilt teammates en route to a 2-1 week with wins over UCLA and TCU. The No. 13 ranked Commodores faced TCU at the legendary Dodger Stadium.
Alex Jackson and Heartland Community College went 1-2 this week down in Central Florida playing in the RussMatt Baseball 2018 Central Florida Invitational. The Hawks dropped both games to Lansing Community College but bounced back against Academy Baseball of Canada 17-13.
The 2018 Wisconsin Rapids Rafters will begin their season on the road against the Madison Mallards on Tuesday, May 29th. The Home Opener is slated for Friday, June 1st against the Wisconsin Woodchucks. The entire 2018 Rafters schedule is available at www.raftersbaseball.com.
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The Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, more than 185 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.
