Wisconsin Rapids is 6-3 against Fond Du Lac this season
Wisconsin Rapids, WI – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters plated 13 runs off 16 hits winning game one 6-4 and game two 7-2 in front of the 1591 fans, the largest crowd at Witter Field so far this summer.
Game One was a back-and-forth contest, with a combined four runs in total scored in the fifth and sixth inning.
The Rafters started the day with two runs in the first. Nathan Hemmerling (Lakeland) took the lead and protected it throwing four scoreless, stranding four Dock Spiders on base in total.
Fond Du Lac knotted up the score in the fifth after a Wisconsin Rapids throwing error. The Rafters took the lead once more in the fifth, bringing home two. McKinley Erves (LaGrange) blasted an RBI double, it was his second RBI of the day.
Fondy once again tied it up in the sixth, with two sacrifice flies. Wisconsin Rapids, for the third and final time, reclaimed the lead, after a Sterling Hayes (Creighton) two-run single.
Northwoods League All-Star Brayden Bonner (Dixie State) earned his sixth save of the season and 24th of his Rafters career.
Game Two saw runs early on from the Dock Spiders. They led 2-0 after the second inning. Rafters starter Will Haberstock (North Alabama) threw a clean third and fourth inning.
The Rafters tacked on three runs, off three hits in the third to go ahead. Marco Castillo (Claremont McKenna) and EJ Exposito (Long Island) delivered RBI singles, and Ben Swords (Webster) placed a flyball in centerfield to score a run.
The Rafters added a run in the fifth, off an Exposito sacrifice fly. The sixth inning led off with a single and walk, as Addie Burrow (Virginia) came off the bench for his first plate appearance of the day.
On a 3-1 pitch, he rocketed a ball to deep right field, which put Wisconsin Rapids up 7-2. It was Burrow’s first home run since high school.
“I was looking for an inside pitch, that I got, and it felt good off the bat,” said Burrow
In the last five innings, the Dock Spiders didn’t have a runner in scoring position. Donovan Brandl (Wisconsin Whitewater) pitched two innings in relief while Zach Bennett (Central Florida) got the final three outs.
The Rafters after losing the six previous games, return after the all-star break and get wins five and six on the season against the Dock Spiders.
“Today was a huge deal, just getting out of the slump helps everyone and brings a better environment,” added Burrow.
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]
