On July 10th Jason Hoppe (Minnesota State) threw 7 1/3 masterful innings in a tough 1-0 loss to Wisconsin. Six days later, what could we expect for an encore? How does 7 2/3 shutout innings sound? It sounds like a 9-1 victory for the Lakeshore Chinooks. Lakeshore handed the first half division champion La Crosse their fourth consecutive defeat Monday.
For the second time in as many starts, Hoppe was awarded the “Pitcher of the Night” in the Northwoods League for his efforts. Jason became the fourth Chinooks pitcher to win the award in the last week and second in as many games. Teammates Cody Glenn (LSU) and Joe Greenfield (South Suburban College) also received the award earlier in the week.
The offense certainly did its part.
Over the past several games, Lakeshore has made a healthy habit of scoring first. The trend continued Monday night when red-hot Forrest Chadwick (Southern Maine) smoked a one out triple and was plated by Bre’ Kimbell, (Louisiana Tech) giving Hoppe the early 1-0 cushion.
Logger miscues lead to a very productive second for Lakeshore. David Masters (Arkansas) started the rally with a one out single. Conner Lynch (Georgia Tech) laced a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Scott Wilcox (Western Kentucky) followed with a fly ball that was misplayed by the centerfielder allowing both Masters and Lynch to score.
Charlie Markson (Notre Dame) added the third hit of the inning, bringing Chadwick to the plate. He proceeded to launch a deep homerun to right field that cleared the 325 foot fence by plenty.
With the Chinooks now comfortably in the lead, Hoppe put it on cruise control. The right hander only allowed one hit through the first six innings, walking two during that time frame.
The offense piled on in the seventh. Chadwick led off the inning with a double for his third hit of the night. A passed ball and a wild pitch allowed him to come around and score. Another ball in the dirt allowed Kimbell to reach first base safely, setting the table for Eric Aguilera (Illinois State)
The league’s leading hitter followed with a double to the corner allowing Kimbell to score from first. Aguilera would later score on the third wild pitch of the inning, pushing the lead to seven.
Forest Chadwick stepped to the plate in the eighth needing just a single for the cycle. To his credit, he did not chase the wide offerings from Steven Pallares who wanted no part of him. Chadwick finished with a fantastic night, picking up 3/4 of the cycle to go along with two walks and two RBI.
The ninth inning brought more fireworks for the offense when Brian Anderson got a ball up into the wind that carried out of Copland Park for his third homerun of the season.
The Chinooks look to make it three in a row sending Andrew Waszak (Michigan State) to the hill Tuesday in game two of the series with La Crosse at 7:05.
