Wisconsin Rapids hit two home runs in the first to power a game two win over Kenosha.
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters completed a two-game sweep of the Kingfish with a 9-1 win on Sunday. The Rafters blasted two home runs in the first inning which set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Steven Rivas (Long Beach State) led off the Rafters’ offense with a shot over the left field wall. Brody Wofford (UCF) worked a walk and Mitch Mallek (St. Cloud State) belted another ball over the wall in left to score himself and Wofford.
The Kingfish scored their only run in the third from back-to-back doubles from Scott Dubrule and Jack Weiller. The cranberry and gold were far from finished. In the fifth frame, the Rafters scored three more off three hits. Mallek collected his third RBI of the afternoon via an RBI double. Jake Dunham (Northern Illinois) followed with an RBI sacrifice fly with Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV) capping things off with an RBI single.
A Rafters run came home in the seventh courtesy of Dunham’s second RBI sac fly while two more runs scored in the eighth. Payton Robertson (Louisiana State Shreveport) scored on a wild pitch thrown by Kenosha reliever Jon Ostroff and Jordan Wiley (Kalamazoo College) came home on a sac fly from Bret Fehr (SIU Edwardsville).
Trayson Kubo (3-0, 0.78 ERA) earned his third win in his second quality start of 2018. Kubo tossed seven innings, allowed just one run on four hits, walked two, and struck out six.
Kaleb Schmidt (0-2, 5.09 ERA) was given the loss, his second facing the Rafters this season. Schmidt gave up six earned runs on five hits with five walks and four punchouts.
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters have an off-day tomorrow before hitting the road Tuesday for a home and home series with the Lakeshore Chinooks. First pitch on Tuesday from Kapco Park is set for 6:35 pm CT.
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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.
