Mequon, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks returned home Thursday night to take on the Kenosha Kingfish for the third time in four days after sweeping the Kingfish in a split doubleheader on Monday. The Chinooks came out hungry for a win after going 0-2 against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and after an impressive outing on the mound along with a great night at the plate, the Chinooks would secure a 7-1 win over the Kingfish.  

The Chinooks sent Marshall Kasowski (Houston) to the mound who made his second start of the season and came into the game with a 3.76 ERA. Kasowski had a dominant performance throwing his fastball at 90 MPH, making it hard for the Kingfish to handle his heat.

Kasowski had good support from the Chinooks' offense as they came out hot at the plate. Chinooks faced Brendon Allen (Eastern Illinois), a righty pitcher with good control Allen took the mound for the Kingfish, coming in with a 1.90 ERA and 25 strikeouts in twenty three and two thirds innings pitched. Bottom of the second the Chinooks started to rip hits off of Allen. Tim DalPorto (Kent State) hit an infield single followed by Royce Ando (Michigan State) who smacked a double to right center scoring Dalporto. Ando advanced to third on a throwing error by the Kingfish that went out of play, and awarded Ando home making it 2-0 Chinooks.

By the top of the third, Kasowski had already racked up five strikeouts. Bringing up the Chinooks' offense in the bottom of the fourth, Dalporto and Matt Johnson (South Dakota State) hit back-to-back singles. Dalporto advanced to third and Darius Sewell (Georgia State) grounded into a double play but added on a run with an RBI making it 3-0 Chinooks.

Kasowski pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the fifth saying “I really competed and attacked the zone. If I was going to lose or give up any runs it was going to be while pitching my best stuff.” Bottom of the fifth brought up Alec Olund (Purdue) who led off with a single to left. Kevin Riley (Chaffey CC) cruised into second with a double down the left field line that scored Olund making it 4-0 Chinooks.

Kingfish brought in Chase Thurston (Eastern Illinois) from the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth who came into the game off a loss to La Crosse on June 18th. Johnson welcomed Thurston by bombing a solo home run to right making it 5-0 Chinooks and increasing his stats to four home runs on the year.  

The Kingfish lineup brought Cal Jadacki (St. Joseph) to the plate in the top of the fifth who drew a walk followed by Nick Kanavas (Madison College) who singled advancing Jadacki to third. Rob Henry (Brown) roped a single scoring Jadacki making it 5-1 Chinooks.

After giving up only one earned run off of four hits, Kasowski was taken out after pitching seven innings and racking up ten strikeouts. He says the keys to his success were attacking the zone and being very competitive. He says it was not his best stuff and he knows he can do better, but he is happy with the end result.  

The Chinooks continued their offensive surge in the bottom of the seventh. Olund led off with a single to left and Riley smacked a ground rule double putting runners on second and third with no outs. James Bleming (Lehigh) drove in 2 runs off an RBI single that scored Olund and Riley to make it 7-1 Chinooks and end the scoring for both teams.

Austin Jones (UW-Whitewater) and Dazon Cole (Central Michigan) both went scoreless in relief pitching. Jones came into pitch the eighth and was very solid, followed by Cole who shut the door on the Kingfish in the ninth. Riley, Olund, Dalporto, and Johnson all went 2-4 at the plate and helped build the offensive momentum.

The Chinooks return home Friday night to take on the Kingfish in game two of the series at 6:35. 

The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd 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 150 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 (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit http://northwoodsleague.com/lakeshore-chinooks.