Wisconsin Rapids came within one in the eighth, but a costly error gave Fond du Lac a 5-2 win
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – In a battle for third place in the South Division, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters kept it close with the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. The Rafters trailed by one entering the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, the Dock Spiders’ Jacob Adams hit a ball towards the outfield it was misplayed for an error allowing two unearned runs to come home for Fond du Lac. The Rafters fell to the Dock Spiders 5-2.
The Rafters scored in their first inning at the plate for the third consecutive night. Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV) plated Ethan Stringer (Louisville) with a base hit to right field. Fond du Lac responded a half inning later with an RBI double from Alex Erro to tie it up 1-1 after an inning. The Dock Spiders took the lead in the fifth plating two from RBI singles by Chris Ayers and Troy Black.
The Rafters kept on fighting, scoring once more in the eighth. Ian Fair would nail a double with one out and scored on a base hit from Bret Fehr (SIU Edwardsville). Two Dock Spiders crossed home plate off the Rafters error in the eighth for three-run lead. Zach Bryant earned his second save for Fond du Lac with a scoreless ninth.
Jon Young (2-1, 0.35 ERA) was given the win. Gareth Stroh (1-1, 2.25 ERA) suffered the loss. Stroh threw five innings, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out one.
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters fall to 13-10 while the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders improve to 14-9. The cranberry and gold continue the road trip tomorrow starting a weekend series with the Wisconsin Woodchucks at Athletic Park. First pitch tomorrow is scheduled 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.
