WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI – Osvaldo Mendez pitched five strong innings, Jose Izarra continued his hot streak, and the Wisconsin Woodchucks ended a two-game skid with a 6-3 victory over the Rafters early Friday morning.
Heavy rain and lightning began just minutes before the scheduled first pitch. The field was tarped at around 6:30 p.m. About two hours later, the rain lightened up and the teams took the field for a 9:03 p.m. first pitch.
A two-run single by Gino Groover put the Woodchucks on the board first in the top of the third. Bash Randle and Jacob Schoenvogel scored after leading off the inning with base hits.
The Rafters got one back in the bottom of the fourth, but the Woodchucks re-established momentum in the top of the fifth. Antonio Valdez drew a bases loaded walk before Kevin Kilpatrick’s sacrifice fly plated Izarra.
Mendez shut down the Rafters in the fifth in order to qualify for his second win of the season. The Alabama State lefty worked five innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out five.
In the top of the sixth, a Rafters error brought home two more runs for the visiting Chucks.
Shane Telfer inherited a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh out of the bullpen. He would take the Woodchucks the rest of the way by recording the last nine outs to earn his second save of the season.
Top Performers
Izarra was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. He has now reached in nine of his last 11 plate appearances.
Groover was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs on the evening,
Schoenvogel was 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Randle was 2-for-4 with a run in his first start since Sunday. He also assisted in a relay to throw out a Rafter at the plate.
Mendez improved his record to 2-1 with the win. His ERA is now down to 2.81.
Chandler Poell allowed one run out of the bullpen in the sixth. It was the first earned run that Poell has allowed in six innings of relief this season.
Telfer struck out three over three innings. His ERA sits at 2.03.
Next Up
The Woodchucks will conclude their four-game road trip tomorrow with the series finale against Wisconsin Rapids at Witter Field at 6:35 p.m. They’ll return home on Saturday to begin a two-game series against the Madison Mallards at Athletic Park.
Wisconsin Woodchucks 6 @ Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 3
Game Date: Thursday June 24th, 2021
| Final/9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodchucks | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 2 | |
| Rafters | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
W: Mendez (2-1, 2.81 ERA) L: Beyer (1-2, 3.86 ERA) SV: Telfer (2)
| Woodchucks | AB | R | H | RBI | YTD AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Izarra, Jose 2B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .348 |
| Kayfus, Cj 1B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .273 |
| Groover Iii, Gino RF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .278 |
| Lockwood, Griffin C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| Valdez, Antonio 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .125 |
| Kilpatrick, Kevin LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .330 |
| Macgregor, Tyler DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .246 |
| Randle, Bash SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .280 |
| Schoenvogel, Jacob CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .150 |
| 35 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| Rafters | AB | R | H | RBI | YTD AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayes, Sterling SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .233 |
| Erves, Mckinley LF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .244 |
| – Burrow, Addie PH LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .211 |
| Nicoloff, Josh DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .276 |
| Castillo, Marco 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .233 |
| – Holley, Reeve 2B | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .225 |
| Exposito, Ej 2B 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .279 |
| Cornblum, Couper CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| – Dickerson, Elijah PH RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 |
| Swords, Benjamin RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .262 |
| – Mann, Blake PH CF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .184 |
| Hinderleider, Jacob 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .185 |
| Eberly, Weston C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .226 |
| 31 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
Wisconsin Woodchucks
2B: J. Schoenvogel 1 (1); K. Kilpatrick 1 (5);
RBI: G. Groover Iii 4 (6); A. Valdez 1 (5); K. Kilpatrick 1 (19);
E: A. Valdez 1 (1); G. Groover Iii 1 (2);
Team LOB: 9;
Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
2B: M. Erves 1 (1); B. Mann 1 (2);
RBI: M. Castillo 1 (9); B. Mann 1 (6); E. Exposito 1 (14);
E: E. Exposito 1 (8); C. Cornblum 1 (1);
Team LOB: 7;
| Woodchucks | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | YTD ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendez, Osvaldo | 5.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2.81 |
| – Poell , Chandler | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.42 |
| – Telfer, Shane | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.03 |
| 9.0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| Rafters | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | YTD ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyer, Justin | 4.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3.86 |
| – Rivera, Devin | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.18 |
| – Bennett, Zachary | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1.50 |
| 9.0 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
Wisconsin Woodchucks
WP: O. Mendez 1 (3);
SO: O. Mendez 5 (18); S. Telfer 3 (13);
BB: O. Mendez 2 (7); C. Poell 2 (6); S. Telfer 2 (9);
BF: O. Mendez 20 (71); C. Poell 6 (29); S. Telfer 12 (54);
P-S: O. Mendez 80-50; C. Poell 15-5; S. Telfer 57-32;
Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
SO: J. Beyer 2 (12); D. Rivera 2 (16); Z. Bennett 4 (9);
BB: J. Beyer 4 (9); D. Rivera 1 (4);
BF: J. Beyer 24 (107); D. Rivera 11 (74); Z. Bennett 6 (23);
P-S: J. Beyer 86-50; D. Rivera 30-20; Z. Bennett 27-19;
Umpires: Plate: A. Perry 1B: T. Brewer 3B: P. McMorris
Weather: Overcast
Start time: 6:35 pm (Central)
Duration: 03:02:21
Attendance: 914
Venue: Witter Field
Northwoods League Standings
| Great Lakes East | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traverse City Pit Spitters | 16 | 8 | .667 | – | 2W | 7-3 |
| Kenosha Kingfish | 13 | 11 | .542 | 3.0 | 1W | 6-4 |
| Kokomo Jackrabbits | 12 | 13 | .480 | 4.5 | 2L | 6-4 |
| Rockford Rivets | 12 | 13 | .480 | 4.5 | 3W | 5-5 |
| Kalamazoo Growlers | 10 | 15 | .400 | 6.5 | 3L | 5-5 |
| Battle Creek Bombers | 8 | 15 | .348 | 7.5 | 1L | 1-9 |
| Great Lakes West | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
| Fond du Lac Dock Spiders | 16 | 9 | .640 | – | 3W | 7-3 |
| Wisconsin Woodchucks | 16 | 9 | .640 | – | 1W | 7-3 |
| Wisconsin Rapids Rafters | 13 | 12 | .520 | 3.0 | 2L | 6-4 |
| Lakeshore Chinooks | 12 | 12 | .480 | 3.5 | 1L | 4-5 |
| Madison Mallards | 10 | 14 | .400 | 5.5 | 1W | 3-6 |
| Green Bay Booyah | 9 | 16 | .360 | 7.0 | 1L | 2-8 |
| Great Plains East | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
| Waterloo Bucks | 17 | 8 | .680 | – | 1W | 6-4 |
| La Crosse Loggers | 12 | 13 | .480 | 5.0 | 1L | 4-6 |
| Eau Claire Express | 9 | 16 | .360 | 8.0 | 2W | 5-5 |
| Duluth Huskies | 8 | 17 | .320 | 9.0 | 2L | 3-7 |
| Minnesota Mud Puppies | 3 | 14 | .176 | 10.0 | 7L | 1-9 |
| Great Plains West | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
| St. Cloud Rox | 17 | 6 | .739 | – | 9W | 9-1 |
| Mankato MoonDogs | 15 | 8 | .652 | 2.0 | 1W | 7-3 |
| Bismarck Larks | 16 | 9 | .640 | 2.0 | 1L | 7-3 |
| Willmar Stingers | 11 | 14 | .440 | 7.0 | 4L | 3-7 |
| Rochester Honkers | 9 | 12 | .429 | 7.0 | 2W | 4-6 |
