The Rafters finished 4-2 at Capital Credit Union Park in 2021
Ashwaubenon, WI – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (36-33) put up seven runs before the Booyah had their first at-bat and took the game by a score of 13-4, winning their seventh game of the season against the Green Bay Booyah (25-44).
The first inning saw the most runs in a single inning for Wisconsin Rapids this season. It started on the first pitch, which was hit up the middle by Lance Gardiner (Saddleback). McKinley Erves (LaGrange) tripled to left-center field to score Gardiner.
EJ Exposito (Long Island) stepped up next and blasted a ball over the right-field wall. It was his third home run of the season, the first Rafter to reach that mark.
Ben Swords (Webster) struck an RBI double, Weston Eberly (Columbia) delivered a sacrifice fly to left, Gardiner an RBI single, and Exposito walked with the bases loaded. The Booyah starter Jett Thielke only earned two outs.
The Booyah cut into the deficit, plating one in the second and three in the third which started with four straight hits. Rafters’ starter Billy Black (Columbia) notched two strikeouts to finish the third. The right-hander totaled three innings, earning four strikeouts.
The middle innings saw no score on either side. Dalton Brooks (LaGrange) entered in the fourth, allowing only one hit over that span. A runner reached scoring position each inning but never advanced to third.
Wisconsin Rapids distanced themselves in the seventh, starting with two walks and an HBP. EJ Exposito skied a ball that scored Blake Mann (St. Mary’s). It was Exposito’s fifth RBI of the game, increasing his team lead to 45, and was the first Rafter in 2021 to bring in five runs in a single game. A Booyah error made the score 10-4.
The Rafters once again loaded the bases in the eighth. Mann singled, Gardiner was hit by a pitch and an Erves fielders’ choice, all tacked on a run.
Brooks finished his fifth and final inning in the bottom of the eighth, gaining two strikeouts. The right-hander bested seven hitters over five scoreless innings. Nick Torres (Long Island) threw an 11 pitch 1-2-3 ninth.
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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]
