For the City Times

FOND DU LAC – The first-place Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (15-9) closed the season series on July 28 with the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (12-12) and a 6-4 loss, finishing the season with an 8-4 record.

After winning game one 15-10 on Saturday, the Rafters rallied late in a Sunday afternoon matchup and could not come back to win. The Rafters still sit in first place in the Great Lakes West Division with 12 games still to play.

Roman Trujillo scored on a passed ball to put Rapids on top in the third, but Fond du Lac answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of that same inning. Trailing 3-1, Jake Dunham pulled the Rafters within one with an RBI single in the sixth.

The Dock Spiders rebuilt their lead to 5-2, but Dunham came up clutch again in the eighth inning, driving in two runs to cut the Dock Spiders’ lead to 5-4. Fond du Lac added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, giving them a two-run cushion heading to the ninth.

The Rafters brought the tying run to the plate in the final inning, but could not overcome the deficit and fell 6-4 to split the two-game series. Starter Nathan Hemmerling gets the loss for the Rafters after pitching five innings.