Mequon, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks are looking to get hot as they sit in second place in the Northwoods League South Division but five games behind first place Kenosha. Entering Saturday with a two-game win streak, the Chinooks took on the Green Bay Bullfrogs. The team could not get a hot streak going, however, falling to the Bullfrogs by a score of 6-2 to split the two-game series. 

Lake Bachar (UW-Whitewater) got the start for the Chinooks. He struggled early on, allowing three runs in the top of the first. That inning could have been worse, but a fantastic catch by left fielder Drake Parker (Vanderbilt) for the first out of the inning robbed Bullfrogs leadoff hitter Paul Jacobson (South Dakota State) of extra bases. 

Bachar settled down after the first, even retiring 11 Bullfrogs in a row at one point. He wound up throwing six innings in the game, allowing just those three runs while striking out eight. With his performance, he now leads the entire Northwoods League in strikeouts with 35. He continues pitching well for the Chinooks and now carries a 2.08 ERA on the year. 

The Chinooks narrowed the 3-0 gap when the team plated a run in the bottom of the second. Kyle Wood (Purdue) walked to start the frame, and he advanced to second on a passed ball and third on an errant throw from Bullfrogs catcher Franco Guardascione (Jacksonville). He then came around to score on an Anthony Massicci (Canisius) groundout. 

The team had a great chance to overcome the 3-1 gap in the bottom of the sixth. They chased former Chinook and Green Bay starter Ryan Radue (Connecticut), who had yet to allow a hit before the sixth, from the game with just one out and the bases loaded. However, Bullfrogs reliever Jake Stolley (Northwestern) came on and got his team out of the inning unscathed. 

The club had yet another chance in the seventh. Massicci and Parker reached base on a single and an error respectively to give the Chinooks guys on first and second with one out. However, once again, the team could not come up with the clutch hit and left the inning without scoring. 

John Schreiber (Kent State) relieved Bachar in the top of the seventh. He allowed a run in the inning on a sac fly from Guardascione. That would be the lone inning Schreiber pitched as he was replaced by Andrew Shaps (Arizona State), making his first appearance, in the eighth. He let up two runs in his Chinooks debut, throwing only one inning.

Shaps did actually do some work with the bat, though. After coming onto pitch, he was also inserted into the lineup, eliminating Wood as the DH. In the bottom of the eighth, Shaps drove in Kyle Fiala (Notre Dame) with a single for the Chinooks second run of the game.

Rustin Sveum (Dixie State) was the final reliever that the Chinooks used. He fired a scoreless inning, holding the game at 6-2, but that was where the game ultimately finished after the team could not mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth.

With the loss, the Chinooks move to 13-11 on the year while the Bullfrogs are 12-11. The Chinooks will now take on the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters at Kapco Park on Sunday and Monday. After that, they take to the road as they travel to Green Bay or another two-game set against the Bullfrogs. 

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 draws 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 120 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), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (TB).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com.