Rafters head to Kenosha for first time in 2018 to begin their third road trip.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – After a phenomenal pitching duel, the Rafters wont it with a walk-off base hit last night to advance 9-5 on the season. The Rafters are tied for second in the South Division Standings still trailing the Madison Mallards by two games.
Steven Rivas (Long Beach State) emerged as the hero from last night as he hit the walk off base hit in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Jordan Wiley (Kalamazoo College) to best the Woodchucks 1-0.
The Rafters now take on their first series against the Big Top Baseball Rival: Kenosha Kingfish. The Kingfish are now 5-8 after a 3-5 loss against the Madison Mallards last night. The Rafters will attempt to take the lead in the all-time series with the Kingfish which is currently at a 16-16 stalemate. The Rafters have been victors of the last 11 matchups.
On the hill for the Rafters tonight is Brecken Lewis (0-0, 5.78 ERA). This is Lewis’ first start of the year after throwing 4.2 innings in four bullpen appearances.
The Kenosha Kingfish will send RHP Kaleb Schmidt (0-0, 2.16 ERA) to mound tonight. In his last start at home facing Kalamazoo, Schmidt pitched 4.1 innings, gave up two runs, allowed six hits and fanned three.
The first pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.
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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in 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, 190 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.
