Wisconsin Rapids, WI– The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters won their sixth straight game on Saturday night, doing it dramatically, walking off the Wausau Woodchucks to win the ballgame 3-2.
The Rafters, despite being outhit 9-7, came through when it mattered most, as they outhit the Woodchucks 3-2 over the final two innings of play.
After a two-hour rain delay before the game even began, both offenses were quiet to start the night, especially the Woodchucks. As they were shutout on just five hits through the first six innings of play due to the strong pitching of Jacob Rosenkranz and Logan Schulfer. The duo combined for eight strikeouts, with Schulfer having six of them, and together gave out two free passes. Setting the tone once again for the offense to come through.
Wisconsin Rapids’ offense did just that in the bottom of the fifth after Ty Johnson led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on an errant throw. The next batter, Logan Hugo drove in Johnson with an RBI single, giving the Rafters a 1-0 advantage.
However, the Rafter lead would not hold for a long time, as the Woodchucks would score two runs in the top of the seventh, taking a 2-1 lead, silencing Witter Field. The Woodchucks had an opportunity to take advantage of their momentum in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, but failed to do so. Leaving four key insurance runs on base, three of them being in scoring position.
Entering the bottom of the ninth with the Rafters down by a run, Jack Basseer and Jack Gurevitch would lead off the inning with back-to-back singles, and then Garrett Broussard walked to load up the bases. With the tying run on third and the winning run on second, Ty Johnson came to bat. Although he went down via a strikeout, the tying run in Basseer scored on a wild pitch during the at-bat, allowing the other two runners to advance as well. The next batter, Logan Hugo, was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Levi Jensen. With the bases juiced, Jensen hit a broken bat grounder to third in which the play at the plate could not be made. Giving the Rafters the victory by a score of 3-2.
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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]
