Wisconsin Rapids, WI – After splitting a two game series with the Madison Mallards on Wednesday, the Chinooks traveled to Wisconsin Rapids to face off against the Rafters in game one of two on Thursday.

Thursday marked the fifth meeting between the two clubs this season, with the Rafters getting the better of the Chinooks in three of those four matchups. Unfortunately, the struggles against the Rafters continued for Lakeshore, as Wisconsin Rapids emerged victorious on a walk off wild pitch to take game one of the series.

Chinooks’ ace Marshall Kasowski (Houston) took the mound for Lakeshore, making his seventh start and tenth appearance of the season. Kasowski has been dominate to say the least, ranking third in the league in ERA (1.62) and first in the league in strikeouts (69). Coming into Thursday, Kasowski posted a 3-1 record with the league’s second lowest batting average against (.184) over his 38.1 innings of work for the Chinooks.

Kasowski faced off against Eric Ligda (Millersville), who was making his fifth start and eighth appearance of the season for the Rafters. Coming into Thursday, Lidga held a 1-3 record with a 2.14 ERA, tallying 32 strikeouts and 9 walks in his 33.2 innings pitched for the Rafters.

The game was highlighted by both pitchers dominating the opposing lineup, with both sides combining for only six hits through eight innings of play.

The Chinooks attacked Lidga early in the first. Royce Ando (Michigan State) got things going by ripping a one-out single. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Tim DalPorto (Kent State) followed up by knocking a single of his own, but aggressive base running by Ando backfired as he was thrown out at home by Rafters’ right fielder Dustin Woodcock (SIU-Edwardsville) to end the scoring threat in the first.

The Chinooks’ offense couldn’t find an answer to Ligda. Hayden Senger’s (Miami-Ohio) lead off single in the second and Matt Reardon’s (Florida Gulf Coast) one-out single in the top of the eighth capped off the offensive production for the Chinooks on Thursday.

Luckily for Lakeshore, Kasowski brought his A-game as well. Kasowski simply overpowered the Rafters’ lineup, holding them to only three hits while racking up an impressive 12 strikeouts and one walk in his scoreless 7.0 innings of work.

Joey Abraham (Vanderbilt) came into the game in the bottom of the eighth in relief of Kasowski. Though he allowed two walks, he was able to record one strikeout and work his way out of trouble to get exit the inning unscathed.

Chinooks’ manager Eddy Morgan decided to go to the bullpen for the bottom of the ninth, as the game was still dead-locked at 0-0. Morgan opted to go with lefthander Nick Lackney (Minnesota), who efficiently mowed down the first two batters to give the Chinooks the chance to fight in the top of the tenth.

However, problems for Lackney manifested at the most inopportune time. Back-to-back singles by Patrick Cromwell (Clemson) and Ben Fisher (Eastern Kentucky) put runners at second and first for the Rafters. Then, after issuing a four pitch walk to pinch hitter Rob Calabrese (Illinois-Chicago) to load the bases, Lackney’s 2-2 delivery to Brandon Polizzi (Cal State-Dominguez Hills) sailed over the head of Chinooks’ catcher Hayden Senger and rolled to the backstop, allowing Patrick Cromwell to score from third to win the game by a score of 1-0 on a walk off wild pitch.

Nick Lackney was issued his second loss of the season after allowing the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Rafters’ reliever Blair Lasko (Buffalo) picked up his fourth win of the year after holding the Chinooks to only one hit and recording two strikeouts in his scoreless two innings of work.

Despite being awarded a no-decision, Kasowski was named the NWL Pitcher of the Night for the third time this season. He tied his season high for strikeouts (12), bringing his season total to 81 which is 23 more than his closest competitor, St. Cloud’s Logan Salow (Kentucky). He improved his ERA to 1.40, maintaining his position as third in the league in ERA and also among the league’s best in batting average against.

With the loss the Chinooks drop to 8-11 for the second half and 23-32 overall, while the Rafters improve to 12-6 for the second half and 36-18 for the season.

The Chinooks return to Wisconsin Rapids on Friday for the final game of the series at 7:05 pm.

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.