Mequon, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks returned home after they competed in a week long road stand. Happy to be home, the Chinooks took on the Kalamazoo Growlers Saturday night where they looked to start fresh with a win.
Making his sixth start for the Growlers was Grant Wolfram (Central Michigan) who made his second appearance against the Chinooks. Wolfram came into the game with a 3.51 ERA and 32 strikeouts in his 33.1 innings pitched
It did not take long for the Chinooks to strike off Wolfram. In the bottom of the second Darius Sewell (Georgia State) lead off with a walk. Hayden Senger (Miami-Ohio) stepped up and ripped a one out double that scored Sewell and gave the Chinooks an early 1-0 lead.
The Chinooks stayed hot in the bottom of the third and added three more runs to their lead after Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) roped a single and later stole second. Tim DalPorto (Kent State) and Sewell both drew back-to-back walks to load the bases for Kevin Riley (Chaffey CC) who smacked a two run RBI single that scored Duncan and DalPorto. With a 3-0 lead, Senger reached off a fielder’s choice that brought Sewell home and increased the Chinooks lead to 4-0.
On the mound for the Chinooks was Keenan Bartlett (Richmond) who made his eighth start on the year and came into the game with an impressive 2.17 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 49.2 innings of work.
The Growlers reached the board in the top of the fourth after Nick Hutchins (Southern Illinois) got on off an error by the Chinooks infield. Dan Robinson (Central Michigan) brought Hutchins home after an RBI single made it 4-1 Chinooks.
The Chinooks kept the bats going in the bottom of the fifth after Riley rocked a double to deep right center. James Bleming (Lehigh) roped an RBI single that scored RIley and extended the Chinooks lead to 5-1.
The game would turn around quickly in the top of the seventh for the Growlers. Darius Coldiron (Coker College) led the Growler’s off with a single and Matt Lloyd (Iowa Western) reached first after he drew a walk.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Bartlett would be taken out after going 6.2 innings for the Chinooks while racking up six strikeouts.
Nick Horvath (Florida) came in from the Chinooks bullpen to finish the top of the seventh where he faced Hutchins who hit a double that scored three more runs and made it 5-4 Chinooks.
The Growlers fought back in the top of the eighth after Sam Griggs (Southern Indiana) reached first off a single. Connor Smith (Western Michigan) was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second for Kopach who hit a triple to clear the bases and put the Growlers up 6-5.
The Chinooks kept their composure in the bottom of the ninth as they faced Growlers pitcher Garvin Alston (Arizona State). Zac Taylor (Houston) started the inning off with a walk and later scored off an error by Alston which tied the game up at 6 a piece.
After twelve innings, the game was postponed until Sunday at 4:00pm due to the rule that no inning is allowed to be started after 11:15pm. Game two will follow at 5:00pm Sunday night.Gates will open at 4:05pm.
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, visithttp://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.
