Madison, WI – It was a long night for the Chinooks pitching staff as the Mallards offense was firing on all cylinders, driving them to a 15-5 win.
Chinooks starting pitcher Kevin Tibor labored through his third consecutive rough start, only completing four innings against Madison and giving up five runs. The Mallards started the scoring off in the first inning with a two-out solo home run by Jake Randa before truly attacking Tibor in the third inning.
The Mallards put two more balls into the outfield seats against Tibor, as both Trevor Boone and David Vinsky hit two run home runs. Madison has used the long ball often this summer, entering Thursday’s game leading the Northwoods League with 45 before adding four against the Chinooks.
For Tibor, the four innings tied his shortest start of the season and the five runs were the second most he’s allowed in a start all season. The Chinooks All-Star pitcher was fantastic in his first seven starts with only a 1.26 ERA, but in his last three starts has an ERA of 9.69 and losses in each game.
Lakeshore turned to the bullpen to try and slow the Mallards offense but the hits kept coming. They scored four runs off of Jonathan Dominguez, who was making his first Chinooks appearance in the bottom of the fifth inning, extending their lead to 9-1. Dominguez allowed the first five batters to reach base, and the damage was done on a bases clearing double by Vinsky.
Madison would add more in the sixth against Brock Immke which was helped by an error from Chinooks second baseman Drew Smith. All four runs in the inning were unearned, but Immke struggled to avoid the wild pitch which allowed multiple Mallard baserunners to advance freely. Garrett Kueber also hit a two-RBI double to push the lead to 13-2.
Randa would add his second home run in the game off of Clayton Slifer to make the score 15-5 before the Chinooks were able to finally quiet the Mallards offense for the night.
The Chinooks attempted to chip away at the lead throughout the night, but were unable to keep the Mallards within reach. Jim Govern lead off the fifth inning with a solo home run and drove in another in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly, but his efforts were erased by the Mallards persistent offense.
Lakeshore would add three runs in the seventh inning on Dallas Beaver two RBI single followed by an error by the Mallards right fielder that allowed Connor Kimple to score as well. Beaver continues to be one of the Chinooks best hitters and most consistent run producers, driving in a team leading 23 RBIs.
The Chinooks return home tomorrow evening to take on the Mallards at Kapco Park with the first pitch coming at 6:35 PM. After an early hot stretch to open the first half, the Chinooks have struggled to put winning baseball together over the last couple of weeks and sit seven games back of the division lead entering play Thursday.
