Wisconsin Rapids, WI— It was a day full of Rafters baseball as they swept the Woodchucks in the doubleheader by winning the first game 5-0 and the second game they won 6-5.
The first game of the day kicked off in the bottom of the 1st as it was a makeup from the game that rained out on Thursday. Drake Frize got the start on the mound as he went 6 innings with 4 hits, but 8 K’s. Both teams were on top of it defensively by constantly getting 3 up and 3 down innings. The Rafters played sound defensive baseball, but they made their mark in the top of the 6th. The bats started to flow as the catcher, Levi Jensen, lined a ball into center and Johnson got on base from a fielder’s choice. Jorge De Goti stepped up big once again as he smashed a single into center to bring in Brendan Bobo. The bases were loaded and Bobo saw a hanging 1-2 curve ball down the plate and smoked a ball into deep right field for the first Rafters first grand slam of the season. With one swing of the bat, the Rafters jumped into a 4-0 lead.
The top of the 7th came around and the Rafters kept the bats going. Jensen got on base via an error with Johnson and De Goti both getting walked. Lorduy then hit a sac fly into center field to bring Jensen home. That was all the scoring for Wisconsin Rapids as they continued to shut out Wausau on the defensive side of the ball. Alec Burnett stepped on in the 7th inning to finish the game and had a great command. He went 3 innings allowing 4 hits, but tallied 4 strikeouts. Between Frize and Burnett they combined for 12 strikeouts. Each team totaled 8 hits but It was a dominant 5 run win and the second time they shutout the Woodchucks this season.
30 minutes later that took us to game 2 where the Rafters got in front early with 2 runs in the top of the 1st. The Wausau starter, Garett Brunstetter, had a tough start on the mound as he walked the first 3 batters of Johnson, De Goti, and Bobo. That brought up the Panamanian, Orlando Lorduy, who saw 4 straight balls to allow Johnson to walk home. Broussard then hit a deep sac fly into center to bring in De Goti to score. Wausau was playing catchup for the second game in a row.
That took us to the top of the 4th where the Rats struck again. The Lagrange College catcher, David Smigelski, led off with a single into center field. Johnson then hit an infield single into the pitcher and Smigelski advanced to 3rd. With runners at the corners, Jorge De Goti rose to the occasion once again by hitting a line drive into right to send in Smigelski. Rafters continued with 2 runs in the 5th with Bornick grounding out on a double play and Broussard scored. Galason got home then on a wild pitch and the Rats sat comfortably up 5-0. That took us to the bottom of the 7th where Wausau stormed back. This was only a 7 inning game so the Woodchucks had a lot of ground to make up. Back to back singles and a walk brought in the bases loaded with no outs. Jakob Boos then singled into center and Dwight Allen followed it up with an RBI single to bring in another runner. A passed ball sent Berkland charging home from 3rd and just like that it was 5-3. The Oklahoma State product, Collin Brueggermann, smashed a hit into center to send 2 more runners home and the game was tied in a hurry. The Rafters blew a 5-0 lead and were headed into extras.
Extra innings in the top of the 8th came around and with a runner already on second, Smigelski perfectly placed a bunt on the 3rd base line to put runners at the corners. Johnson grounded out into a double play, but Brewer scored and the Rats regained the lead. Reliable pitcher, Blake Barker, came in for the save and rented the side in 3 batters and the Rafters remained victorious once again. 22 combined hits, but a late scare from Wausau was not enough as the Rafters improved to 13-11 and jumped up to 1st in the Great Lakes West.
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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]
