
Friday Night Fish Fry: Rafters Best Chinooks 10-3
July 12, 2024 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Wisconsin Rapids Rafters News Release
Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. - The Rafters love to score runs in bunches.
A three-run first, a two-run fourth, and a three-run sixth told the story for Wisconsin Rapids in their 10-3 win against Lakeshore on Friday night.
After getting swept in their doubleheader on Thursday against Wausau, this win was a much needed sigh of relief for the Rafters. They got out to an early lead, got stellar pitching from Matthew Heard and Nick Paulsen, and slammed the door late.
Heard put together his best outing of the season by far, spinning five scoreless frames with seven strikeouts and no walks. He faced the minimum through four innings and retired the first nine hitters he saw.
"That's exactly what we needed out of him, he had a little bit of trouble in his last start with the finger, obviously that thing healed up pretty good," said field manager Kirk Shrider after the game.
Paulsen tossed three innings in relief and allowed just two runs on three hits while striking out one. After being the piggyback to Bryson Moore in his last two appearances, he provided some much-needed stability out of the bullpen after the doubleheader Thursday.
Perhaps most impressively, the Rafters needed no home runs to score their ten runs in the ballgame. The majority of their runs scored throughout this week's homestand had been due to round-trippers, but WR proved that they didn't need to do that to notch the win.
"We had a couple come close, but at the end of the day, 14 hits and 10 runs, that's doing your job," said Shrider. "That's what we need to do going forward, not always count on the big one... having clutch hitting and those timely hits always are big.
The Rafters had tons of offensive standouts throughout the game, with Owen McElfatrick scoring four runs from the leadoff spot, Max McGwire driving in three runs, and NWL all-star Jorge DeGoti knocking three hits of his own. WR had a total of 14 hits in the game.
"I've developed a lot... Everyone's able to push me to get where I'm at now," said DeGoti after the game. "Just because yesterday we came here and it wasn't our day, that doesn't mean that the next day isn't going to be our day."
Juan Berrios entered in the ninth and allowed one unearned run, but recorded the final three outs to finish off Lakeshore. Overall, this was a solid top-to-bottom performance for Wisconsin Rapids, which was a crucial sight after the two losses on Thursday. And after those losses, Shrider knew exactly which buttons to push to get the best out of his squad the next day.
"Sometimes the best thing is to not talk to 'em at all, I think everybody understands what the situation was and what happened, there was no reason to berate anybody about it," he said. "It's baseball, sometimes things just don't happen right... we find a nice cruising altitude and hopefully take care of business the following day, which is what we did today."
Wisconsin Rapids finished off the series with Lakeshore on Saturday, with first pitch for game two scheduled for 6:35. Khalin Kapoor will have the call on the Northwoods League Sports Network, and Andy Jachim will be live on WFHR - 97.5 FM, 1320 AM.
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![]() Wisconsin Rapids Rafters on in game day |
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Northwoods League Stories from July 12, 2024
- Late Inning Meltdown Leads to Crushing, 10-9, Defeat vs Express - Duluth Huskies
- Rockers Throttle the Kingfish in First Meeting of the Season - Green Bay Rockers
- Friday Night Fish Fry: Rafters Best Chinooks 10-3 - Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
- Rodriguez's Slam Lifts Rochester Over Waterloo - Rochester Honkers
- Chucks Keep Rolling - Six Straight Wins - Wausau Woodchucks
- MoonDogs Take Game 1 vs the Larks - Mankato MoonDogs
- Lakeshore Shut Down in Friday Night Lights Matchup - Lakeshore Chinooks
- Kingfish Fall in Homestand Finale 14-1 - Kenosha Kingfish
- Rockford Returns to Winning Ways with 13-5 Victory Over Battle Creek - Rockford Rivets
- Spitters' Win Streak at Three - Traverse City Pit Spitters
- Another Day Another Double Header - Another Chucks Win - Wausau Woodchucks
- Three Huskies Named to Northwoods League All-Star Game - Duluth Huskies
- Three Royal Oak Leprechauns Selected for NWL All Star Game - Royal Oak Leprechauns
- Three Rafter Bats Selected to 2024 Northwoods League All-Star Game in Mankato - Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
- Justin Hausser Named to 2024 All-Star Game - Kenosha Kingfish
- Six Woodchucks Named to Northwoods League All-Star Team - Wausau Woodchucks
- Madison Mallards Announce Two Northwoods League All-Star Selections - Madison Mallards
- Wisconsin Rapids Legend Moe Hill Making Return to Witter Field for Friday Night Game against Lakeshore - Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
- Six Rivets Selected for 2024 Northwoods League All-Star Game - Rockford Rivets
- Series Shifts to Wade as Huskies Look to Continue Success vs Express - Duluth Huskies
- Rockers Head South to Battle the Kingfish - Green Bay Rockers
- Northwoods League Announces 2024 All-Star Selections - Green Bay Rockers
- Kibler Named Northwoods League All-Star - Lakeshore Chinooks
- Three Kalamazoo Growlers Named to the 2024 Northwoods League All Star Game - Kalamazoo Growlers
- Pair of Bucks Named to Great Plains All-Star Team - Waterloo Bucks
- Northwoods League Announces 2024 All-Star Selections - Northwoods
- The MoonDogs Bring Home a Win Going 4/5 in the Series - Mankato MoonDogs
- Thibodeaux Drives Huskies Back to Winning Ways, Sweep of Doubleheader with Eau Claire - Duluth Huskies
- Rafters Lose Game Two 14-6, Get Swept in Doubleheader against Wausau - Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
- Rivets Showcase Determination in Doubleheader Against Madison Mallards at Rivets Stadium - Rockford Rivets
- Chinooks Blast 2 HR in 5-2 Game 2 Win to Split DH - Lakeshore Chinooks
- Liam O'Brien Wins June 11th Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night - Kalamazoo Growlers
- Madison Mallards Take Both Games of Doubleheader Against Rockford Rivets - Madison Mallards
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