Mequon, WI – Both offensives struggled to score runs, but a misplayed ball in the eighth inning was part of the difference as the Dock Spiders beat the Chinooks 2-1.

A fly ball down the left field line that looked playable for Sebastian Holte-Mancera instead found the turf and allowed Andrew Bullock to advance to second for a leadoff double. Two batters later, Chris Ayers singled off of Chinooks reliever Nick Campe and drove home pinch runner Dayton Provost to give the Dock Spiders the lead and eventually the win.

Brendan McGuigan threw six shutout innings for the Chinooks, continuing his strong performance to start the season. The right-hander has yet to allow an earned run on the season, extending his scoreless streak to 19 innings after tonight’s start.

“He’s feeling good,” Manager Travis Akre said. “He’s built up his own. He made pitches. He did everything he was supposed to do.”

The Dock Spiders were still able to put pressure on McGuigan throughout the night. In the first inning a pair of errors by Chinooks third baseman Dallas Beaver put two runners on with one out, but McGuigan worked around the runners. Fond du Lac put together a pair of hits and a walk in the second but once again couldn’t find a way to score a run. McGuigan left six Dock Spiders standing on the basepaths in his six innings of work, striking out seven.

Lakeshore was able to break through first, scoring the first run of the game in the fifth inning. Fond du Lac starter Zach Frey walked leadoff batter Web Charles and Cole Turney followed with a single to put runners on first and second. A sacrifice bunt by Andy Shadid put them in scoring position and Frey was relieved for Mike Hope. Mike Aiello was able to lift a sacrifice fly to left field to give the Chinooks a 1-0 lead.

Fond du Lac was able to break through against the Chinooks bullpen in the seventh inning to tie the game at one. Chinooks lefty Trevor Smisek walked the first batter he faced and it came back to bite him. A one out double by Alex Henwood drove home Jacob Adams and evened the game.

Throughout the night, the Dock Spiders were able to keep the Chinook offense quiet. Lakeshore only mustered up four hits, failing to put much pressure on the Fond du Lac pitching staff. The Chinooks had the tying runner in scoring position in the ninth inning but Nathan Thomas struck out Cole Turney to end the game and pick up the save for Fond du Lac.

“Just got to keep putting in work,” Akre said.  “It’s a humbling game sometimes. You got to adjust and we’re just not finding the holes right now. Just got to be better than that.”

The Chinooks will face off against the Dock Spiders again tomorrow night at Kapco Park. Lakeshore looks to bounce back after losing four in row. First pitch will be at 6:35 pm.

The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR).  All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.