Mequon, WI – After losing the first seven games of the season series against Madison, the Chinooks used a good offensive performance to power them to a 13-6 win.
Madison had dominated against the Chinooks up until the eighth and final game of the season series, winning the first seven. The Mallards outscored the Chinooks in those games 47-17 and were the only team the Chinooks had not defeated over the summer.
But the Chinooks were finally able to break out against Madison, scoring 13 times and consistently putting runners on base throughout the night. The offense was carried by big performances from Connor Kimple, who had four hits and five RBIs, and Dallas Beaver, who added three RBIs as well. It was the first time the Chinooks broke the 10 run mark since July 7th against Wisconsin Rapids.
Lakeshore started the scoring with two runs in the first inning on a RBI single by Connor Kimple and a two-RBI single by Sebastian Holte-Mancera. But the early lead was quickly disappear.
The Mallards scored three times off of Chinooks starter Marko Boricich in the second inning to take a 3-2 lead. Boricich allowed a stretch of five consecutive batters to reach base and Calvin Greenfield and Cam Cratic drove in three with a couple of singles.
The Chinooks answered immediately in their half of the inning though, scoring three times to regain the lead for good. Dominic Clementi drove in Cole Turney with a single to tie the game up at three and Dallas Beaver hit a sacrifice fly to give the Chinooks the lead. Kimple added a RBI single to finish the scoring in the second inning.
Throughout the rest of the night, the Chinooks would continue to add runs to their lead, scoring at least one in the fourth through seventh inning. Dallas Beaver drove in two with a double in the fourth and Jim Govern added a solo home run in the fifth. Two more scored in the sixth on a double by Kimple and a sacrifice fly by Holte-Mancera. The Chinooks finished their scoring for the night with three in the seventh inning to push the lead to 13-6. After the first three batters walked to load the bases, Kimple drove home two with a single and a Drew Smith sacrifice fly scored one more.
Kimple, since returning to the Chinooks on August 1st, has been on a tear in his first four games back. After hitting just .184 in his first 27 games with the team before he was released, Kimple has raised his average to .256 in just four games. In those four games, Kimple is hitting .733 (11 for 15), with seven RBIs. He’s given the Chinooks a big bat in the middle of the lineup since his return to the field.
After Boricich was relieved after allowing three in the second inning, the Chinooks turned the game over to Eliot Turnquist, who was making his Chinooks debut. He threw five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. It was a solid outing for Turnquist, who was mostly tasked with protecting the lead. Jake Carlson pitched the last two innings for the Chinooks.
Lakeshore travels to Green Bay to take on the Bullfrogs tomorrow. Austin Jones will get the start for the Chinooks, with the first pitch coming at 6:35 PM.
