Green Bay holds Lakeshore to just one run in 15 innings played at Kapco Park
Mequon, Wis.- In a doubleheader Friday night, the Green Bay Rockers swept the Lakeshore Chinooks by scores of 4-2 and 9-0 at Kapco Park, handing the Rockers two huge wins to start off four consecutive games played against the Chinooks.
Led by an extra inning victory in game one and standout pitching from Maddox Long (Harding) in game two, the Rockers took control in both contests on the road, holding the Chinooks to a total of one run allowed over the course of 15 innings played.
As a result, Green Bay won their 35th and 36th game played heading into the final week of regular season play, as they sit just one game back in the overall standings to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
Game 1:
The first game from Thursday night resumed in the top of the sixth inning after the two teams entered the frame tied at one apiece through five innings of play.
Once the contest started back up, Henry Chabot (Chapman) recorded a scoreless bottom of the sixth with two strikeouts to lead the way, as his scoreless frame took the game into the seventh still knotted at one apiece.
After each team once again did not score in the seventh, each team traded zeros in the eighth inning with neither offense being able to break through on either side heading into the ninth, with the score still tied at 1-1.
In the bottom of the ninth, Green Bay forced a 10th inning after a double play was turned by Mateo Matthews (Wagner College) and Cooper Kelly (Kansas), as the standout Rockers defense kept the Chinooks off the board to take the first of two contests to extra innings.
Neither team broke through to win it in the 10th inning, with Michael Riley (Gateway Community College) throwing a scoreless bottom of the 10th to keep it a 1-1 game going into the 11th.
Green Bay broke through in the 11th with three runs as a two-RBI single from Zane Zielinski (Illinois-Chicago) and an RBI single from Kelly made it a 4-1 game heading into the bottom of the frame, with Riley looking to finish the job on the mound.
Despite the Chinooks plating one run across in the bottom of the 11th on a fielder’s choice, Riley recorded the final out and kept Green Bay ahead by two to seal the day, winning game one 4-2 in 11 innings at Kapco Park.
Game 2:
Green Bay picked up where they left off from game one in the top of the first, as an RBI groundout from AJ Anzai (Chapman) gave the Rockers an early 1-0 lead through an inning of play, after Maddox Long (Harding University) started his night off strong on the mound with a scoreless bottom of the first.
In the second, Max Mims (Southwestern) scored home from third on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 2-0 after an inning and a half with Green Bay in control early on the road at Lakeshore.
Following the bottom of the second, in which Long struck out the side, each team went scoreless in the third inning, but the Rockers once again tacked another run with the third run scored coming on a fielder’s choice RBI from Jayson Jones. This gave Green Bay ahead a 3-0 lead through four innings after Long threw 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth inning.
The Rockers exploded for three runs in the top of the fifth off a two-RBI double from Cooper Kelly (Kansas) and an RBI infield single from Zane Zielinski (Illinois-Chicago) increasing the Green Bay lead to six halfway through the contest at Kapco Park.
After Long threw his fifth scoreless frame of the night in 1-2-3 fashion, Carlos Hernandez (Anderson) extended the Rockers lead to seven on an RBI single, making it a 7-0 game in favor of Green Bay going into the bottom of the sixth.
Even though Long gave up his first base hit of the ballgame in the bottom of the sixth, Long struck out the last batter he faced in the frame to keep the Rockers up by seven, having eight strikeouts through six innings on the hill.
An RBI sacrifice fly from Kendal Ewell (Illinois-Chicago) pushed the Rockers lead to eight in the top of the seventh, while two more strikeouts from Long capped off his night at seven innings pitched with 10 total strikeouts and allowing just one hit in all.
Mateo Matthews (Wagner College) handed Green Bay their ninth run of the game in the eighth on an RBI groundout, and Micah Berens (Incarnate Word) threw a scoreless bottom of the eighth to take the contest into the ninth with Green Bay still leading 9-0.
Tucker Isbell (Hendrix College) secured the sweep with a scoreless bottom of the ninth, handing Green Bay the 9-0 win in game two as well as the two-game sweep against Lakeshore Friday night on the road.
The Rockers will head back home to take on the Chinooks for the third time in as many days starting at 1:05 p.m. This game was moved from 6:35 p.m. to 1:05 p.m. to accommodate Family Night Traffic at Lambeau Field.
The pregame concert performed by Warden will begin at 12:00 p.m. with there being $5 tickets offered for wearing Green and Gold and the bat dog appearance making an appearance Saturday afternoon.
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.
