For the City Times

Wisconsin Rapids notches 16 hits in the victory

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Offense carried the way for Wisconsin Rapids (45-18, 18-9) in an 11-4 victory in Battle Creek (37-25, 17-10) from C.O Brown Stadium on Thursday.

It did not take long for the newest member of the Rafters lineup to make an impact. On the second pitch he saw, Alex Holderbach drilled a solo home run to give the Rafters a 1-0 lead in the first.

Bryson Stott then followed him up with a base hit, his 85th of the season. The hit makes Stott the new leader in hits for a single season in franchise history. Ryan Stekl followed him with a single, and Dustin Woodcock walked to load the bases. Jake Guenther singled home Stott, and Nick Anderson brought in a run with a sacrifice fly to give the Rafters a 3-0 lead after one.

Stott wasted no time driving in the Rafters fourth run on the game, bouncing a single in between first and second in the second to push the Rafters ahead 4-0. Battle Creek picked up its first run in the third when Alex Howard doubled and scored on a Nick Walker single.

The Rafters used an offensive outburst in the fourth to take an eight-run lead. Charlie McConnell, Holderbach and Stott each reached base to load the bases for Stekl, who drove in a run with a single. Guenther bounced his second hit of the day for an RBI, while Kapers drove in one with a sac fly. A balk and an error plated the other two Rafters runs to give Wisconsin Rapids a 10-1 edge heading to the bottom of the inning.

Battle Creek’s offense got a jump as catcher Wyatt Cross drilled a three-run home run to pull the game within six runs, 10-4.

In the top of the eighth, Woodcock unloaded for his eighth home run on the season to give the Rafters an 11-4 lead.

Isaiah Carranza (6-0) for the Rafters entered on the mound in the second inning, after Garrett McGraw and Jack Nelson combined to pitch a scoreless first. The loss is tagged on Dakota Edwards (3-2) of Battle Creek.

Stott finished with three hits and two walks while scoring two runs. Stekl notched three base hits, and Guenther brought home two with two base hits. Every player in the Rafters lineup drove in a run or reached base safely in the game.

First pitch in Battle Creek on Friday is slated for 6:05 p.m. CT. Pregame coverage starts at 5:50 p.m. on AM 1320 WFHR and WFHR.com, the Rafters Radio Network.