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Published On: June 25th, 2016

Mequon, WI – The Chinooks returned to Kapco Park on Friday to face off against the Kenosha Kingfish after an emphatic 7-1 victory in game one of the series on Thursday. Game two featured yet another pitcher’s duel for Lakeshore, as both teams struggled to find holes in the opposing defense.

Luke Sommerfeld (Saint Louis) took the mound for the Chinooks in his first start and seventh appearance of the season. Coming into Friday’s game, Sommerfeld had a record of 1-1 and an 2.31 ERA in his 11.2 innings of work for the season.

Alex Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky) started on the bump for the fifth time this season for the Kingfish. Hamiliton came into Friday boasting a 0-1 record and 7.20 ERA with 17 strikeouts in his 15.0 innings of work for the Kingfish.

The game remained scoreless until the Kingfish struck first in the top of the third. Rob Henry (Brown University) lead off the inning with a single to right field. Sommerfeld then issued two walks to Marty Bechina (Michigan State) and Pat McInerney (Illinois) to load the bases with two outs in the inning. Then, Sommerfeld’s control continued to plague him, as he sailed two balls over catcher Hayden Senger (Miami-Ohio) that scored Henry and Bechina on the wild pitches to give the Kingfish a 2-0 lead.

According to the Northwoods League rules, a pitcher cannot come back into the game to pitch the following inning if he throws over 35 pitches in an inning. Since Sommerfeld tallied 37 pitches in the third inning, he would be replaced by Tyler Jandron (UW-Parkside) in the fourth, who was making his Northwoods League debut after arriving to Lakeshore just days before Friday’s contest.

Both offenses were silent until the Chinooks answered in the bottom of the seventh against Kenosha’s reliever Bobby Skogsbergh (Boston College). Matt Johnson (South Dakota State) lead off the inning with a single. Darius Sewell (Georgia State) followed with an infield single, but second baseman JD Hearn (UC-San Diego) sailed a throw over the head of Kenosha’s first baseman Chad Jadacki (St. Joseph University) that allowed Johnson and Sewell to advance to second and third. Then, Owen Miller (Illinois State) stepped up and grounded out to second, but Johnson came around to score on the play to put the Chinooks on the board and bring them within one.

The Chinooks threatened in the ninth after Royce Ando (Michigan State) lead off the inning with an infield single, later advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hayden Senger. However, the Chinooks couldn’t square up the decisive hit to score Ando, as Kenosha’s closer Ryan Orr (Kalamazoo) shut the door in the ninth to secure the 2-1 win for the Kingfish.

Luke Sommerfeld was issued the loss, his second on the season. In his three innings pitched, Sommerfeld gave up two runs on two hits with three strikeouts, but he issued five walks that ultimately made the difference in the game down the stretch.

Alex Hamilton was awarded his first win of the year after holding Lakeshore to one run, which was unearned, on two hits and striking out five in his six innings of work. Ryan Orr picked up his second save of the season after coming into the game in the eighth and holding the Chinooks to only one hit and tallying three strikeouts as he insured the victory for the Kingfish.

With the loss and series split, the Chinooks drop to 10-16 on the season, while Kenosha improves their record to 10-15 on the year.

The Chinooks return to Kapco Park on Saturday to face off against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in game one of a two game series beginning at 6:35pm.

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.