Wisconsin Rapids, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks couldn’t hold on to leads on three separate occasions in a disappointing 6-5 loss to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters on Thursday. The loss puts the Chinooks under the .500 mark for the first time during the second half of the season.
With Lakeshore ahead 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, right hander Nick Campe took the hill looking to shut the door on the Rafters. Campe’s command was all over the place, however, as three wild pitches, three walks, and a hit batsmen amounted to two runs and a victory for Wisconsin Rapids. The blown save was Campe’s second of the summer.
The ninth inning wasn’t the only frame Lakeshore couldn’t maintain a lead, however. The Chinooks got out to a quick 2-0 advantage in the top of the first inning thanks to a RBI sacrifice fly from designated hitter Dallas Beaver and an RBI groundout from third baseman Griffin Dey.
The Rafters responded in the bottom of the fourth inning with three runs against Lakeshore starting pitcher Jacob Lindemann. The fourth inning was Lindemann’s last, and he left with his team down 3-2. Only one of the runs the right-hander allowed was earned, and he allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out four in his outing.
The Chinooks tied the game at three in the top of the sixth inning thanks to an RBI double by Dey. After six innings, the game remained tied at three and each team’s starter had been removed, leaving the fate of the contest to the bullpens for the final three innings.
Lakeshore regained the lead in the top of the seventh inning on shortstop Jack Dunn’s RBI sacrifice fly, but the Rafters tied the game at four in the bottom of the frame against relief pitcher Brad Immke, pitching in his third inning out of the bullpen.
In the top of the eighth, Beaver led off the inning with a walk and with one out, scored from first base on an error by Wisconsin Rapids’ shortstop to give the Chinooks a 5-4 lead. Lakeshore scored in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings of the game.
The score remained 5-4 until the fateful bottom of the ninth, when Campe struggled to find the strike zone and the Rafters tied the game with a bases loaded walk and won the game with a bases loaded hit by pitch.
The Chinooks look for a series split tomorrow night in Wisconsin Rapids against the Rafters. Game time is 7:05 p.m. and Northwoods League All-Star Kevin Tibor takes the mound for Lakeshore.
