On Tuesday, the Chinooks exploded for five runs in the sixth inning and gained the advantage. They defeated the Bombers by the final score of 11-5.
Right fielder Brett Siddall (Canisius) led the Chinooks. He went 4-4 with two singles and two doubles. Siddall also had an RBI and scored three runs.
Siddall has really found his swing within the last week. “I’m feeling pretty good out there, today with two strikes, I got lucky a little bit, it was one of those days, and I was happy with it,” he said.
Field Manager Eddy Morgan has been impressed by his right fielder. “Brett keeps putting the ball in play,” he said. “Sometimes he hits the ball hard and doesn’t have anything to show for it, so he makes up for it on days like these.”
Wichita State Shocker Garrett Brummett (2-0) picked up the win in relief. He threw five shutout innings and gave up three hits. The right-hander also had six strikeouts.
The Bombers struck quickly in the first. Chinooks starter Mike Letkewicz (Augustana College) gave up a single to Spencer Thornton. Designated-hitter Connor Panas drew a walk. Thornton scored on an error by Mitch Ghelfi (UW-Milwaukee).
Panas also came across on a passed ball thrown by Letkewicz. Right fielder Justin Stawychny also had an RBI single in the inning. Battle Creek led 3-0.
In the second, lefty Cody Glenn (Lipscomb) replaced Letkewicz and gave up one run off one hit and two walks. Battle Creek second baseman Bryan Daniello stole home in the inning.
The Bombers scored another run in the fifth. Catcher Henri Lartigue got a basehit off reliever Ryan Radue (Connecticut). He scored on wild pitch. Battle Creek had a 5-0 advantage on Lakeshore.
Four straight walks issued by Jacob Waguespack gave the Chinooks their first run of the game. Carter White (Memphis) scored on a base on balls to Ryan Larson (Florida). Second baseman Jake Noll (Florida Gulf Coast) also had an RBI sacrifice fly to right field in the fourth.
Siddall led off the fifth with a single off Matt Rhodes. He immediately advanced to second on an error by Spencer Thornton. Siddall scored on a Carter White putout. Lakeshore trailed 5-3.
The team exploded for five runs in the sixth. Matt Honchel (Miami-OH) drew another walk by Rhodes. The right-hander then hit Sawyer Polen (Kent State). Noll had a two-RBI triple, and the contest was tied at five. Siddall had an RBI double and the Chinooks took the lead.
Siddall came home on a Brant Valach (Eastern Illinois) single. The first baseman White had an RBI double in the same inning off Matt Rhodes.
Lakeshore also scored three runs in the seventh. Siddall advanced on a walk by Austen Thrailkill. He scored on Valach’s sacrifice fly to left field. Thrailkill issued two RBI walks in the inning. The Chinooks led 11-5.
The right-hander Rhodes (1-1) got his first loss of the season. In one and two-thirds innings, he gave up six runs off five hits.
The Chinooks will play the Battle Creek Bombers again on Wednesday (6:35 p.m.). They will also face the La Crosse Loggers on Thursday (6:35 p.m.) and Friday (7:05 p.m.). The team will travel to play at Green Bay on Saturday and Sunday. They have the day off on Monday, July 14.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel<http://northwoodsleague.com/video/>. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com.