Rafters Drop Opener With Madison Late
MADISON, Wis. – The Mallards jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the Rafters in the home half of the first and took strong command of Wednesday night’s ballgame from there.
Davis Hamilton collected an RBI for the host in just the second hitter sent up by Madison in the first. Blake Guerin made it 2-0 with an RBI single, and catcher Will Vierling did the same thing two batters later to make it 3-0 Mallards.
Madison tacked on another run in the bottom of the second on an Alex Harrell sacrifice fly.
The first homer of the season for Mallard outfielder Justin Best in the top of the sixth padded the Madison lead to 6-0.
Wisconsin Rapids got back into the contest in a big way in the seventh. Madison reliever Brandon Cahill walked four straight Rafter hitters after Jake Beauchaine singled to lead off the frame. The walks gave Rapids two runs back, with a Jack Mathey sacrifice fly making it 6-3. Alex Brodie was in the box with two down and the bags juiced in the inning. He drove a ball to the right field warning track that was too tough for Charlie Marion to handle. Brodie’s bases-clearing double capped off a six-run inning and tied the game up.
Madison would get the last laugh in the eighth inning with three final runs to sink Wisconsin Rapids. A run came home on an Alex Harrell fielder’s choice to break the 6-6 tie, and a Blake Guerin two-run double to center field made it 9-6 Mallards.
The Rafters threatened in the ninth, but left two runners on and could not push anything across.
Thomas Burns got the start for the Rafters and served as an opener in his debut with the club. The right-hander from Hortonville, WI, and Arizona State surrendered three runs on four hits in the first inning.
Nick Paulsen worked a bulk of the game for the Rafters out of the bullpen. The lefty went four strong and allowed only one run on three hits. The second-year Rafter struck out six and didn’t walk a hitter in his second outing of the season.
Paulsen’s college teammate Sidney Ferry collected the loss for the Rafters tonight. After getting the victory on Sunday against Lakeshore, Ferry struggled with command in the eight inning tonight, allowing three runs in that inning.
Jacobs Kisting got the ball for Madison and went five scoreless innings on the hill for the second straight start this summer. The Bradley product allowed just two hits and struck out eight in the 88 pitches he threw.
Davis Welch got the win out of the Madison bullpen with his two innings of work. The right-hander didn’t allow a hit or run in his third appearance of the season.
The Rafters are back in action tomorrow in game two of the series against Madison. First pitch is slated for 6:05, the game can be heard on the radio home of Rafter Baseball, WFHR – 97.5 FM, 1320 AM.
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’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 245 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 (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
