Rafters falter again against Green Bay, lose 7-5
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. – The Rafters fell for the second straight game against the Green Bay Rockers Wednesday night. They were down 6-1 early, and were unable to climb back out of the deficit for a 7-5 loss.
The Rafters struck first in the second inning off a Kyler McIntosh sacrifice fly, but the lead was short lived. Green Bay struck back to tie up the game in the third, then tallied twice in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. In his third start of the season, Ricky Williams went four innings and allowed three runs, striking out five.
Brandon Scott took the baton in the top of the fifth and immediately ran into trouble, walking three and allowing three earned runs. He didn’t make it through the inning and got hooked down 6-1. He would get saddled with the loss.
In the bottom of the fifth, Greyson Shafer launched a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 6-4. It was his first homer of the season. But the Rafters were unable to strike any more, falling scoreless in the next three innings.
Matthew Heard came in relief of Scott and settled things down nicely, firing 3.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and just one hit.
In the bottom of the ninth, Mason Onate got one run back with a leadoff solo homer, but that was it for the Rafters. It was another comeback that fell just short for Wisconsin Rapids, who have shown resilience as a team but have been unable to finish games late this season.
The loss drops the Rafters down to 7-8 and boosts the Rockers to 6-9 overall. WR will travel to Madison for a two-game road set before coming home this weekend against Lakeshore. Andy Jachim will have the call on WFHR – 97.5 FM, 1320 AM for a 6:05 first pitch.
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]
