Wausau Woodchucks
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI- The Wausau Woodchucks moved to five games above .500 as they won their third straight contest, beating the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 8-2 on the road Friday night.
The win completes Wausau’s second two-game sweep of an opponent this season, joining Wausau’s sweep over Fond du Lac at the beginning of June. The Woodchucks are now 3-1 against Wisconsin Rapids in 2025.
The game was scoreless in the first three innings, but the Woodchucks broke through on offense in the fourth. Dylan Schlotterback (Paris JC/Kansas) led off the inning with a solo home run to left field, his first home run as a Woodchuck. The home run broke an eight-game drought for Wausau without a long ball.
Wausau then stretched its lead out in the fifth, with a four-run inning that made it 5-0. Wausau has now registered four or more runs in a single inning in their last three games against Wisconsin Rapids. In the inning, Schlotterback tagged on another RBI on a single, Ethan Guerra (Arizona) brought two runs in with an RBI single of his own, and Cade Baldridge (Cowley CC/Kansas) earned his second RBI as a Woodchuck by taking a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
After the Rapids Rafters scored two runs in the sixth, Wausau made their lead comfortable to finish the game. The Woodchucks scored two runs in the seventh inning as Aiden Harris (Virginia) and Anthony Quigley (South Florida) both scored on a Wisconsin Rapids error.
Then, Noah Malone (Loyola Marymount) put the icing on the cake, launching his first home run of the season in the ninth inning to seal the victory. The home runs from Malone and Schlotterback mean that five different Woodchucks have hit home runs this season, and it’s the second time in 2025 where the Woodchucks have hit multiple home runs in a game.
Wausau outscored Wisconsin Rapids 29-9 in the two-game sweep of the Rafters. Tonight, the Woodchucks recorded 11 hits, with five players recording multi-hit games. That included Christian Smith-Johnson (Texas A&M-CC), who now leads the Northwoods League in batting average (.435) and hits (27). He extended his league-leading hit streak to 17 games with a 2-4 day at the plate. In addition, the Woodchucks also took 10 walks as a team, which helped them put runners in scoring position in the win.
While Wausau’s bats led the way, Wausau’s pitching shut down Wisconsin Rapids, only allowing two runs on just five hits. Mason Morello (New York University/Fordham) got the start, and he earned the win after tossing 5.1 strong innings on the mound. Zach Wyatt (Montevallo) would pitch 1.2 scoreless innings on the mound before Kade Douglas (CSU-Pueblo) dealt a clean eighth inning, and Reece Clapp (Bradley) retired the Rafters in order in the ninth.
The strong performance from Wausau’s pitching staff has been a big piece of their success in 2025. Wausau is now 10-1 on the season when its opponent scores five runs or less in a game. The Woodchucks’ pitching staff currently has the fifth-best ERA in the Northwoods League, which sits at 4.21.
Wausau has now won three straight games, as they move to 11-6 on the season. The Woodchucks are now 8-3 in the month of June, and 9-4 against Great Lakes West opponents. The Woodchucks keep pace with Madison, who also won tonight, as Wausau continues to sit a half game behind the Mallards in the Great Lakes West standings.
Wausau will now head east to the state of Michigan to begin its longest road trip of the 2025 season. The Woodchucks will play their next four games against foes from the Great Lakes east, beginning tomorrow when they visit the defending Northwoods League champions, the Kalamazoo Growlers. First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. CT.
Meanwhile, the Ignite were run-ruled by Madison 22-1 in a five-inning game. Madison scored nine runs in the second innings and followed it with 12 runs in the third to take a commanding lead.
The Ignite got their lone run in the bottom of the fourth. Riley Schwisow (Northwestern State) got on base with a double and moved across to third base on a groundout by Mia Johnson, after an errant throw attempting to get Schwisow out. Riley was able to advance to home to ensure Wausau avoided getting shut out at home.
The Ignite are now 1-3 to begin the 2025 season, and 1-2 at home. Madison moved to 3-0 and still holds first place in the Northwoods Softball League standings.
Other scores from the Northwoods League- Great Lakes Division:
Battle Creek 13, Rockford 10
Madison 19, Royal Oak 0
Traverse City 4, Kalamazoo 0
Lakeshore 6, Kenosha 5
Green Bay 9, Fond du Lac 3
Softball:
Mankato 12, Minot 11 (Game One)
Mankato 9, Minot 6 (Game Two)
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