Wisconsin Rapids had the tying runner at the plate in the tenth
Wisconsin Rapids, WI – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (27-32) dropped a heartbreaker against the Dock Spiders (38-21) 7-4 on a foggy Saturday evening at Witter Field.
The game ended two minutes before midnight and was delayed by rain from 6:55 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
When played resumed, Wisconsin Rapids went to work. EJ Exposito (Long Island) hit a two-run double in the first inning. It was his seventh RBI in the last three games.
Fondy responded in the second with a solo home run. Rafters’ starter Devin Rivera (Villanova) allowed only one run in 5.1 innings and continued his start even after the delay.
The third through the seventh inning saw no runs, with a combined eleven runners left on base.
The Dock Spiders tied it up in the eighth on their solo home run. In the top of the ninth, Fond Du Lac plated two runs, both on fielders’ choice.
In the ninth, down 4-2, Lance Gardiner (Saddleback) began the inning with a walk.
Sterling Hayes (Creighton) represented the tying run and came up to the plate. He blasted a ball over the left-center field wall, for his first home run of the season. Hayes was mobbed by teammates after touching home and the game was pushed into extras.
With a runner starting on second, Fondy hit an RBI double and then the final home run of the night, a two-run shot, to bring the score to 7-4.
The bottom of the tenth, saw a single from Ben Swords (Webster) to put runners on the corners, the Rafters’ next three batters went down on strikes.
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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]
