Wednesday night’s game between the Lakeshore Chinooks and Wisconsin Woodchucks was nothing short of grand. The Chinooks put up 11 runs, four coming in the 2^nd inning when Forrest Chadwick (U. Southern Maine) launched one over the centerfield wall for the Chinooks’ first grand slam at Kapco Park.

“It was impressive. Forrest has been swinging a good bat for us and he’s done a lot of good things for us and the bat is really coming around,” said Head Coach John Vodenlich on Chadwick’s grand slam.

The Chinooks’ offense stayed hot in their final game with the Woodchucks; Chinooks have scored 19 runs in the past two games while scoring 16 in their previous eight. To the Chinooks’ demise, the Woodchucks had their own offensive clinic.

The Woodchucks would not go quietly after a barrage of runs came in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings for the home team. The Woodchucks connected for 22 hits, 11 coming against Andrew Waszak (MSU) who held the mound for 6.1 innings, throwing three K’s and walking two.

The Woodchucks’ first three hitters reached base, but struggled to stay there, one runner was picked-off at 1^st and a failed attempt to steal 2^nd nabbed another. Wisconsin lit the scoreboard up first with an RBI double by Levi Meyer to score Madison Carter.

The Chinooks offense ignited on Chadwick’s grand slam in the 2^nd and garnered four additional unearned runs in the 3^rd. After a three-inning drought, the Chinooks struck again in the 6^th with a Bre Kimbell (Louisiana Tech) RBI single and a controversial call coming at 1^st base that scored Ty Young (Louisville) to increase the lead to 10-5.

With a comfortable lead going into the 7^th, the Chinooks may have thought the game was won. However, the Woodchucks resilience was undeniable. They rallied in the top of the 7^th, on the verge of multiple pitching changes for the Chinooks, to score four runs. Andrew Arenson (Carthage) entered the game, followed by Tyler Sparger (Indian Hills CC).

The Chinooks’ final run came in the bottom of the 7^th as Scott Wilcox (W. Kentucky) hit a RBI double to score Zack Granite (Seton Hall), pushing the lead to 11-9.

The game’s story was thought to be written after seven, the Chinooks had a lead and only two innings to get through. Unfortunately, Wisconsin had another surprise in-store for the fans at Kapco Park. The Woodchucks’ lit-up the scoreboard six times in the top of the 9^th to take a 15-11 lead. Sparger struggled to squelch the fire set by the Woodchucks, allowing three doubles and one triple.

“I think we’ve seen this before. We’re pouring our heart into the game and they get a clutch hit to go ahead and after that, it’s kind of like everything we had just goes out the window,” said Vodenlich regarding the later innings.

The Chinooks were unable to rally after the astonishing late-inning rally by the Woodchucks in the bottom of the 9^th. Sparger received the L for the Chinooks, and Jordan Jess earned the W for the Woodchucks.  

Tomorrow’s game, against the Madison Mallards, is at 7:05p.m. at Kapco Park.