Northwoods Wisconsin Rapids Rafters

Rafters Leave 13 On-Base as Alexandria Earns Series Split, 3-2

Published on August 1, 2013 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Wisconsin Rapids Rafters News Release


Wisconsin Rapids, WI- The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (27-33, 8-17), loaded the bases in the ninth inning with just one out, but the Alexandria Blue Anchors (20-38, 10-15) reliever, Andrew Johnson, got the final two outs of the ninth inning to secure the 3-2 victory for the Blue Anchors Thursday night at Witter Field. The one-run loss marks the fourth consecutive game decided by one-run that the Rafters have dropped, bringing their record in games decided by a single tally to 10-7.

Alexandria out-hit Wisconsin Rapids by a total of 10-4, but the Rafters left 13 runners on-base throughout the inning and just could not get the clutch base-hit to bring in the tying-run.

Offensively, George Ragsdale (Virginia), led the way for the Rafters with two base-hits in his final at-bat including and infield hit in the ninth to give the Rafters runners at first and second with nobody out.

The Rafters got on the board early in the second inning after Robbie Coman (Virginia) led off the second inning with a walk and Michael Jurgella (St. Cloud Rox) singled to center field to give the Rafters runners at first and second with nobody out. Derek Peake (UW-Milwaukee) dropped a well-placed sacrifice bunt to move both runners in scoring position. The first run of the game came on a dropped fly ball by Dalton Leuschke, which, allowed Coman to score to give the Rafters the early lead, 1-0. One more run would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Riley Spetz (UW-Stevens Point) to plate Jurgella. The RBI was just the fourth of the season and gave the Rafters the lead, 2-0.

From there, offense was sparse as the Rafters would combine for just three more base hits the rest of the evening.

Alexandria responded with a run of their own in the fifth inning when Andrew Mulato (Michigan State) clubbed his third home run of the season off Rafters starter, John Kravetz (Illinois). The home run was a solo home run for Mulato and moved the Blue Anchors within one run. Kravetz, after giving up a home run and a double in the fifth inning, departed in favor of Trevor Koehn (Edgewood).

The 4 2/3 innings of work for Kravetz, 4-3, was his first start in 15 days and marked his shortest outing of the season. Kravetz was charged for just one run on the home run and affectively earned a no-decision.

Koehn, working back-to-back days, twirled 2 1/3 innings and issued just three base-hits but gave up two runs in the seventh inning on a single to Mulato for his second hit of the day and a triple to Kristopher Goodman. The two-run innings for the Blue Anchors gave Alexandria the lead, 3-2.

The Rafters would have a chance in the ninth inning after Taylor Stell (Texas) reached on a walk and Ragsdale reached on an infield hit to give the Rafters the winning run at first base with nobody out. From there, Dewees followed with a sacrifice bunt to give the Rafters runners at second and third with just one out. Johnson, though, would bear down to get the final two outs of the inning without giving up a run, issuing a fly ball out to Coman and inducing and infield fly to Jurgella to end the frame.

The 3-2 win gave Alexandria a split of the series with the Rafters at 1-1 and moved Wisconsin Rapids to just 1-3 on their current home stand.

The Rafters will continue an eight-game home stand on Friday night at Witter Field when Wisconsin Rapids and Eau Claire Express ope a two-game series. Friday's game is schedule for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. The eight-game home stand is the longest of the season and includes six games against clubs with winning records. Rafters fans can listen to tomorrow night's ballgame by tuning into 1320 AM WFHR or by tuning into the leagues YouTube channel.

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are members of the 16-team summer collegiate Northwoods League. The Rafters will play a 70 game schedule with 35 home games in 2013. Available quantities of all promotional giveaways will vary from event to event and will be available on a first come, first serve basis.  The best way to guarantee giveaway items is to purchase a 9-Game Package.  The offseason office hours are Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm.  For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com.

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Northwoods League Stories from August 1, 2013


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