Mequon, WI – The Chinooks returned home to Kapco Park on Wednesday to face off against the Wisconsin Woodchucks in game one of a two game series. Lakeshore hoped to start the second half of the season in the win column after going 15-21 during the first half, finishing eighth in the South Division.
Marshall Kasowski (Houston) started on the bump for the Chinooks, making his seventh appearance and fourth start of the year for Lakeshore. Kasowski has pitched well for the Chinooks, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.54 ERA and tallying a team-high 48 strike outs in his 28.1 innings of work for Lakeshore during the first half of the year.
Jonah Dipoto (UC-San Diego) took the mound for his fifth start of the season for the Woodchucks. Coming into Wednesday, Dipoto had a 1-1 record with a 6.75 ERA, recording six strike outs and twelve walks in his 16.0 innings pitched for Wisconsin.
Kasowski dominated the Woodchucks lineup, holding them hitless through the first three innings. But, Wisconsin threatened in the top of the fourth. Steve Passatempo (UMass Lowell) lead off the inning with a double off of the left-center wall, and Chad Fleischman (Lamar) reached on an error by shortstop Owen Miller (Illinois State) to put two runners on with one out in the inning. But, Kasowski was able to get Cade Harris (Oklahoma) to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning for the Woodchucks.
The Chinooks broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth. New-comer Cody Ducote (LSU) roped a one-out triple down the right field line to start the inning off for Lakeshore. Then, Owen Miller ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Ducote and put the Chinooks on the board.
Lakeshore struck once again in the bottom of the fifth. Tim DalPorto (Kent State) reached on a fielder’s choice to second, and a walked issued to Kurtis Brown (Richmond) put two runners on for the Chinooks. Darius Sewell (Georgia State) then roped a single to center, but the ball scooted under the glove of Woodchucks’ center fielder Marquise Doherty (Missouri) and rolled all the way to wall, allowing all three runners to score to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
Beau Zeihen (Allan CC) came into the game in the bottom of the sixth in relief for the Woodchucks, but the Chinooks’ offense continued to tack on more runs. Cole McDevitt (Minnesota) got things going by lining a one-out single to center. Zac Taylor (Houston) then connected on the first pitch he saw from Zeihen, lifting it over the left field wall for his first home run of the season to give the Chinooks a commanding 6-0 lead.
The Chinooks didn't stop after Taylor’s blast. Following a walk issued to James Bleming (Lehigh) and a single by Matt Reardon (Florida Gulf Coast) put two runners on for Lakeshore, Tim DalPorto got a hold of a full count offering from Zeihen, driving a three-run home run to increase the Chinooks’ lead to nine. Darius Sewell kept the offense rolling by roping a triple to right-center, later scoring on a wild pitch to improve the Chinooks’ advantage to 10-0 going into the stretch.
The Woodchucks battled back in the top of the seventh against Chinooks’ reliever Liam Jenkins (Arizona State). A lead off walk issued to Cade Harris put a runner on for Wisconsin. After advancing to second on a passed ball, Harris came around to score on an RBI single Jonathan Foster (Auburn) to put the Woodchucks on the board. Jenkins proceeded to walk Marquise Doherty and give up a single to Cole Daily (Notre Dame) to load the bases with no outs in the inning. Then, a sacrifice fly by Connor Heady (Kentucky) brought home Foster to score the second run of the inning for the Woodchucks.
Liam Jenkins was taken out of the game after the Daily sacrifice fly, as Chinooks’ manager Eddy Morgan called Jack Landwehr (Illinois State) out of the bullpen with runners at the corners with one out. Landwehr was able to get George Janca to ground out to third, but Doherty was able to score on the play from third, bringing the score to 10-3.
Zach Reeg (Augustana) came into the game to pitch the ninth inning for Lakeshore. But, his night got off to a rocky start, as hen walked Marquise Doherty and hit Cole Daily with a pitch to put two runners on with one out for the Woodchucks. After the runners advanced on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly to right by Connor Heady scored Doherty to bring the score to 10-4. Reeg was then able to settle down to get George Janca to fly out to center to seal the victory for the Chinooks.
Marshall Kasowski was awarded with his second win of the season after holding the Woodchucks to only one hit and striking out eight in his scoreless 5.0 innings of work. Jonah Dipoto was issued his second loss of the year after giving four runs, two of which were earned, on three hits with three strike outs and six walks in his 5.0 innings pitched.
With the win, the Chinooks bring their season record to 16-21 and start their second half of the year in the win column. The Woodchucks continue to struggle, as they lose the thirteenth consecutive game to drop their season record to 13-22.
The Chinooks return to Kapco Park for game two of the series against the Woodchucks on Thursday 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.
