Mequon, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks had a tough road trip to Mankato, getting beat twice in walk-off fashion. They returned home to take on the Kenosha Kingfish on Wednesday, and their fortunes turned around as they won 7-5. 

Facing Kenosha starter Rico Garcia (Hawaii Pacific), the Chinooks jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first. Anthony Massicci (Canisius) and Jake Romano (Miami-Ohio) drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning and begin the threat. Lucas Raley (Lake Erie College) then slammed a three-run homer, his 13th of the year, over the center field fence to give Lakeshore three runs with no outs. The offense was hardly done there.

Doug Kraeger (Richmond) later drew a walk of his own, and Greg Deichmann (Louisiana State) followed with a single to put two on. Mark Kolozsvary (Florida) then grounded into a fielder's choice, retiring Deichmann, but a triple off the bat of Jack Benninghoff (Arkansas) proceeded to bring in Kraeger and Kolozsvary, giving the Chinooks a 5-0 advantage. 

Lakeshore sent Ryan Dunne (John Logan College) to the mound for the start. After holding Kenosha scoreless the first two innings, he allowed them to narrow the gap in the third. The Kingfish loaded the bases with no outs, and an Eric Filia (UCLA) groundout brought in Mitch Gasbarro (Eastern Illinois) to make it 5-1. Dunne did do a good job of avoiding a potentially disastrous inning as that was all that Kenosha could get in the frame. 

Kenosha came around to score another run in the top of the fourth. Pat McInerney (Illinois) reached base on an error made by shortstop Massicci, and he later worked his way around to third. He came around to score thanks to Gasbarro, who singled him home.

The Chinooks threatened for another big inning in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases thanks to walks drawn by David Edson (USC) and Raley and a single from Massicci. That chased Garcia from the game, but Lakeshore could not take advantage of the opportunity and was held scoreless in the frame.

The Kingfish continued to narrow the gap with another run in the fifth. Zach Weigel (Seton Hall) drew a walk to begin the frame, and after advancing to third, he was scored by a Jeremy Vasquez (Florida) single. With two on and two out, Dunne was chased from the game in favor of Teddy Klingsporn (Luther College), who escaped the jam.

Klingsporn stayed on to start the sixth, but he let up a walk and a single before being pulled in favor of Nick Brown (Missouri State). Brown let one inherited runner to score on a sac fly from Filia, but he preserved the lead by striking out McInerney with the bases loaded. 

Lakeshore widened the gap in the bottom of the sixth. Massicci and Romano drew back-to-back walks, and Raley was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. The first run of the frame proceeded to come around when Massicci scored on a wild pitch. Zarley Zalewski (Kent State) then drew a walk of his own to re-load the bases with still none away. Romano later came around to score on a sacrifice fly hit by Deichmann, making it a 7-4 game.

Brown stayed on to hold Kenosha scoreless in the seventh before being replaced by Connor Jones (Georgia) in the eighth. Jones shut out the Kingfish in the eighth before giving up a run in the ninth. That run was meaningless, though, as Jones finished out the game and earned the save as the Chinooks won 7-5. 

The Chinooks go on the road on Thursday for a two-game series with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. After that, they continue the road trip with a two-game set in La Crosse. 

The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 21 year old summer collegiate 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com.