Kalamazoo, MI – After taking game one of the series on Monday, the Chinooks looked to keep their four-game winning streak alive as they faced off against the Kalamazoo Growlers in game two on Tuesday.

Joey Abraham (Vanderbilt) took the mound for his sixth start of the season for Lakeshore. Coming into Tuesday, Abraham had a 1-4 record with a 4.91 ERA, tallying 21 strikeouts and 22 walks in his 18.1 innings pitched for the Chinooks.

Grant Wolfram (Central Michigan) got the start on the bump for the Growlers, making his eighth appearance and third start of the season. Wolfram came into Tuesday with 2.79 ERA and 1-1 record, recording 23 strikeouts and issuing 10 walks in his 29.1 innings of work for Kalamazoo.

The Chinooks didn’t hesitate to get on the board first in the top of the first. Royce Ando (Michigan State) kicked things off by slapping a one-out single. Then, an error by Growlers’ third baseman Matt Lloyd (Iowa Western) allowed Tim DalPorto (Kent State) to reach and advance to second, while also bringing home Ando to score on the play to give the Chinooks an early 1-0 lead.

However, the lead did not last long, as the Growlers answered in the bottom of the first. Matt Lloyd made up for his error in the top of the inning by roping a one-out RBI double to score Connor Kopach (Eastern Illinois) to tie the game at 1-1.  Then, back-to-back singles by Jordan Verdon (San Diego State) and Nick Hutchins (Southern Illinois) brought home Lloyd to score and increase the Growlers’ lead to 2-1. After a walk was issued to Camden Duzenack (Dallas Baptist) with two outs in the inning, a 3-2 delivery got away from Abraham and hit Michael Crowley (Huntington), scoring Verdon on the hit-by-pitch to give the Growlers a 3-1 lead.

Abraham’s night would end after the first inning, marking his shortest outing to date. After giving up three runs on three hits while striking out one and issuing one walk, Chinooks’ manger Eddy Morgan passed the ball to Nick Lackney (Minnesota) to silence the Growlers’ offense.

But, Kalamazoo picked up right where they left off and continued their surge in the bottom of the second. After an error by Chinooks’ shortstop Owen Miller (Illinois State) allowed Connor Kopach to reach, followed by a single by Dan Robinson (Central Michigan) to put runners at the corners, a wild pitch from Lackney sailed over the head of catcher Tim DalPorto and brought home Kopach to score the fourth run of the game for the Growlers. After the wild pitch, a ground ball to third off the bat of Jordan Verdon brought home Dan Robinson to score on the play, increasing the Growlers’ lead to 5-1. Then, an RBI single by Nick Hutchins scored Matt Llyod to make it a 6-1 ballgame.

The Chinooks battled back in the top of the fifth as an RBI double by Royce Ando drove in Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) to make the score 6-2. But, the Growlers answered once again in the bottom half of the fifth, as Tre Gantt (Ohio State) knocked an RBI single to score Camden Duzenack to increase the Growlers’ lead to 7-2.

Kalamazoo would hold the Chinooks scoreless to go on and win by a score of 7-2, splitting the series and snapping the Chinooks’ four-game win streak.

Joey Abraham was awarded his fourth loss of the year after his short outing. Grant Wolfram picked up his second win of the season for the Growlers.

With the loss the Chinooks drop their record to 15-21, while Kalamazoo boosts their record to 20-16 on the year.

The Chinooks return home to face off against the Wisconsin Woodchucks at Kapco Park 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.