Green Bay heads back home for two-game series with Wausau beginning Thursday night
Mequon, Wis.- The Green Bay Rockers fell to the Lakeshore Chinooks 12-5 Wednesday night at Kapco Park, snapping a four-game winning streak and suffering their first loss of the second half as a result.
The Rockers are now 1-1 after their first two games of the second half and will look to a two-game series with the Wausau Woodchucks starting Thursday night at Capital Credit Union Park, after splitting the two-game set with Lakeshore to begin second half play.
Green Bay scored first courtesy of a passed ball that brought home Zane Zielinski (University of Illinois-Chicago) from third, as after a scoreless bottom of the first from Bryce Crabb (University of Northwestern-St Paul), the Rockers took a 1-0 lead through just an inning of play.
The Rockers doubled that lead in the second after an RBI groundout from Luke Moeller (Arizona) brought home Lukas Schramm (Kentucky) to extend the visitors lead to two after just an inning and a half at Kapco Park.
Lakeshore responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the second off an error by Green Bay to cut the lead in half, and it would a 2-1 lead for the Rockers following a scoreless third frame on both sides.
In the fourth, the Chinooks evened things up at two off an RBI single from Brady Counsell (Minnesota), and then took the lead on an RBI sacrifice fly from Andrew Townsend (Missouri State) to make it a 3-2 game in favor of Lakeshore.
The Chinooks tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the fourth after a bases loaded walk and a two- RBI single pushed the lead for Lakeshore up to five at 7-2, with the Rockers looking for a rally entering the fifth inning.
Nainoa Cardinez (Hawaii) trimmed the Rockers deficit to four with an RBI single, as his seventh RBI of the season made it a 7-3 game in favor of Lakeshore heading into the sixth frame in Mequon.
Following a scoreless bottom of the fifth from Micah Berens (Incarnate Word), Green Bay cut the deficit even more in the sixth off an RBI single from Cuyler Zukowski (Creighton). This put the Rockers down by just three going into the bottom of the sixth, after scoring in back-to-back innings on offense.
However, the Chinooks responded quickly in the bottom of the sixth with four runs of their own, as RBIs from Hunter Grimes (Arkansas) and Joey Spence (Notre Dame) pushed the Lakeshore lead back up to seven at 11-4 through six innings of play.
Grimes added one more run for Lakeshore in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, but AJ Anzai (Chapman University) retired the last two batters he faced quickly to send the contest in the eighth with the Chinooks leading 12-4.
After Anzai retired the Chinooks in order in the bottom of the eighth, Green Bay tacked on a run in the ninth off a sacrifice fly from JoJo Jackson (Georgia State), but the Chinooks would hold on to win 12-5, splitting the two-game series with Green Bay to open the second half of the 2023 season.
The Rockers will now return home to Capital Credit Union Park to begin a two-game series with the Wausau Woodchucks Thursday night. First pitch in Ashwaubenon is set for 6:35 p.m. with the pregame concert performed by New Dueling Pianos beginning at 5:30. It is also Thirsty Thursday at the ballpark with there being $4 24 oz. beers through the fifth inning.
Single game tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbayrockers.com or call the ticket office at 920-497-7225 to reserve your seats today. The Rockers front office and Team Apparel Fan Shop at Capital Credit Union Park are located at 2231 Holmgren Way in Ashwaubenon. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm.
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The Green Bay Rockers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 325 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.greenbayrockers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
