Rafters sweep Green Bay at home, win 10-6

Rafters sweep Green Bay at home, win 10-6

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Rafters got their first sweep of the season Saturday night against Green Bay, defeating the Rockers 10-6 at Witter Field.

The Rockers struck first against Rafters’ starter Maddox Thornton with two home runs in the second inning. But that was the only runs that they would score until the seventh.

Meanwhile, the Rafters’ offense got to work.

In the third inning, WR tied up the ballgame after Jack Mathey scored on a passed ball. Mathey smoked an RBI single earlier in the frame and Greyson Shafer drove in a run with a double.

Then in the fourth after new Rafter Chris Arroyo grounded an RBI single, Max McGwire stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. He would proceed to crush his third grand slam of the season to increase the lead to 8-3.

Thornton finished his start with four solid innings, allowing just those three runs while striking out four. Lefty Brandon Scott then took the baton and spun three stellar frames with just a run and two ceded. He would earn the win for his efforts.

Green Bay tallied a run in the top of the seventh and two in the top of the ninth, but Rafters’ reliever Kyle Bender induced a key comebacker with the bases loaded to end the ballgame. While things got a bit shaky late again for WR pitching, they executed when they needed to in order to secure the sweep.

Kyle Dobyns took the loss for Green Bay, allowing five runs in just a third of an inning pitched. He did not record a single out in the fourth frame, and ceded the grand slam from McGwire.

Wisconsin Rapids is now tied atop the Great Lakes West standings with the Wausau Woodchucks at 3-1, and they are now 18-19 overall. They match up against Wausau on Sunday at Athletic Park.  Andy Jachim will be live on WFHR – 97.5 FM, 1320 AM.

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 245 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.

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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]