Mequon, WI – Following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Madison Mallards on Thursday, the Chinooks returned to Kapco Park to face off once again against the Mallards on Friday. It marked the sixth meeting of the year between the two clubs and the fourth matchup just in the last five days, with the Mallards getting the better of the Chinooks in four of the five previous games played between the division rivals coming into Friday’s contest.

Tyler Jandron (UW-Parkside) took the mound for Lakeshore in his second appearance and first start of the season. In his debut appearance against the Kenosha Kingfish on June 24, Jandron threw three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, recording three strikeouts and allowing only one hit.

Frank German (North Florida) started on the bump for the fifth time this season for the Mallards. Coming into Friday, German had a 2-1 record with a 2.25 ERA, allowing thirteen hits and striking out eleven in his sixteen innings of work.

German exited the game after the third inning after he tallied 35 pitches in the third, prohibiting him from continuing due to a new Northwoods League pitch count rule. Justin Watts (Northern Kentucky) came out of the bullpen to relieve German in the fourth.

The Chinooks finally broke through in the fourth. Matt Johnson (South Dakota State) drew a lead off walk and advanced to second on a broke-bat ground ball by Hayden Senger (Miami-Ohio). Then, James Bleming (Lehigh) ripped the first pitch he saw from Watts into the left-center gap, scoring Johnson from second on the RBI double to give the Chinooks a 1-0 lead.

The Chinooks weren’t done yet. A single by Tim DalPorto (Kent State) advanced Bleming to third, and then a bloop RBI single into right by Owen Miller (Illinois State) scored Bleming to increase the Chinooks’ lead to 2-0. After Miller advanced to second due to defensive indifference, a ground ball to short by Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) looked to be a sure out to end the inning. But, the throw by short stop Nico Hoerner (Stanford) was too low for Mallards’ first baseman Nate Palace (Valparaiso) to handle, bouncing to the Chinooks’ dugout and allowing both DalPorto and Miller to score on the play to increase Lakeshore’s advantage to 4-0.   

The Mallards answered in the top of the fifth. Cameron Frost (Washington State) reached on a single to left, later advancing to third after an errand pickoff throw by Tyler Jandron sailed over first baseman Matt Johnson’s head into the right field corner. Frost then came around to score on a passed ball to make it a 4-1 ballgame.

The Mallards tacked on one more in the sixth. A throwing error by second baseman Royce Ando (Michigan State) allowed Nico Hoerner to reach with one out in the inning. Then, an RBI double to center by Zach Jarret scored Hoerner on a close play at home to bring the score to 4-2. Chinooks’ manager Eddy Morgan was ejected from the game arguing the umpire’s decision at home, leaving pitching coach Josh Redbandt to take over in Morgan’s absence.

Following the RBI double, a single by Nate Palace and a walk issued to Luke Schiling loaded the bases for Madison with one out in the inning. Tyler Jandron’s night would end there, as Jack Landwehr (Illinois State) came out of the bullpen in relief.

The Chinooks offense emphatically surged in the bottom of the sixth. Zac Taylor was issued a leadoff walk and advanced to second after Owen Miller ripped a single to left. A perfectly placed bunt down the left field line by Joe Duncan then loaded up the bases for Lakeshore with no outs in the inning. The Mallards brought in reliever Alex Smith (North Florida) out o the bullpen, but Royce Ando stepped up and slapped an RBI single to right to score Taylor and bring the score to 5-2 in favor of Lakeshore. Then, four consecutive RBI singles by Tim DalPorto, Matt Johnson, Hayden Senger and James Bleming scored four runs to increase the lead to 9-2.

Madison elected to go to the bullpen once again, bringing in Chase Hoag (Fresno State) in relief of Smith after he failed to record an out in the sixth. However, a wild pitch by Hoag allowed to Senger to score from third to make the score 10-2. Zac Taylor drew his second walk of the inning to load the bases once again with one out in the inning. A sacrifice fly to center by Owen Miller brought home Bleming to score the seventh run of the inning to make the score 11-2 Lakeshore.

The Mallards tacked on one in the top of the seventh. Nick Roark (Oral Roberts) roped a double off the right field wall to leadoff the inning for the Mallards. After advancing to third on a passed ball, Roark came around to score on a ground ball by Josh Stowers to make it a 11-3 ballgame.

Matt Johnson turned on a 3-1 delivery from Mallards’ reliever Kevin Berge for a one-out double to start the inning for Lakeshore. Johnson advanced to third on a ground ball to short by Hayden Senger, and later came around to score on an RBI single by James Bleming to increase the Chinooks’ lead to 12-3.

The Chinooks weren’t done yet, tacking on more runs in the bottom of the eighth. A one-out walk to Owen Miller followed by an infield single by Joe Duncan lead off the inning for Lakeshore. Then, a ground ball to third by Tim DalPorto appeared to be an inning ending out, but the throw by third baseman Nick Roark sailed over the head of Mallards’ first baseman Nate Palace into right field, bringing home Miller and Duncan on the play to increase the Chinooks’ lead to 14-3.

Lakeshore would go on to win by the same score of 14-3, topping the Mallards in an outstanding offensive performance. The Chinooks finished the game with 21 hits, tying a franchise record for hits in a game.

Tyler Jandron picked up his first win of the season after giving up two runs, none of which were earned, on five hits with two walks and two strike outs in his 5.1 innings of work for Lakeshore. Justin Watts was issued his second loss of the year after giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on three hits with one strikeout and one walk in his 0.2 innings pitched during the fourth inning.

With the win, the Chinooks improve their record to 12-20 while the Mallards drop their record to 20-12 on the year.

The Chinooks travel to Battle Creek to face off against the Bombers in game one of a two-game series on Saturday 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 or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.