Wisconsin Rapids, WI— A come from behind victory in the bottom of the 9th for the Rafters as they take down the Lakeshore Chinooks in a close knit contest.
The Rafters drew first blood in the top of the 1st as Ty Johnson and Brendan Bobo were both hit by a pitch. Garrett Broussard walked which allowed Gurevitch to send a sac fly to deep right field to send Johnson home. This game was scoreless for 3 innings and then Lakeshore broke through in the bottom of the 5th. The Chinook infielders, Johannes and Becker both walked while Roessler got a base hit. The left fielder, Hunter Grimes, drilled a ball into left field to send 2 runs home to give Lakeshore a 2-1 lead.
Calen Graham started on the mound with 2 strikeouts and Mikiah Negrete took over in the 4th inning while pitching 2 more strikeouts.
Lakeshore added to their lead in the bottom of the 7th as Brady Counsell got a base hit into center field. Shortly after, Counsell got to 3rd with Gabe Roessler up. He hit a sac fly to center field to bring Counsell home and the Chinooks took a 3-1 lead. The top of the 7th came around and the Rafters got one back. Bobo and Hugo walked while Conniff was up. Chris saw a wild pitch that rolled into the back track to give Bobo the green light to score. The Rats cut it to a 3-2 game.
Wisconsin Rapids stepped up their game in the top of the 9th as Gurevitch led off and was hit by a pitch. Hanson pinch ran and Hugo hit a perfectly executed bunt into right field to send him to first while advancing Hanson to second. Chris Conniff then hit a huge line drive on the 1st base line to bring Hanson home. Later in the inning, Johnson hit a sac fly into deep center field to allow Hugo to get home and the Rafters took the lead. The Rafters pitching staff called to their bullpen once again to bring in the Westcliff pitcher, Julian Tristan, he retired 5 batters and recorded his 7th save of the season while doing so.
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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]
