Madison, WI- The Chinooks have hit a rough patch early in the season. But there is one positive takeaway you can take from this rough stretch of games. The positive being, that the season has just got under way and there are plenty of games left for this team to turn this season around. Don’t throw in the towel yet Chinook fans. This team is full of young talent and has the potential to make this a fantastic turnaround.
Another right-hander took the mound tonight to face the division leader Madison Mallards. Newly acquired Brandon Komar got the start for the Chinooks. Komar worked a long seven innings. During his outing he gave up four runs, allowed 4 walks, and recorded 3 strikeouts. After tonight’s game, his ERA stands at 5.14. Like most of the roster, he is young player and for him to face an undefeated Mallards team and do the work he did, it was very impressive outing for Komar. Will Klein would come in to relieve Komar and he would give up one run but also record three strikeouts. After tonight’s game, his ERA sits at 3.00. The Lakeshore pitching performed well.
A single by the Mallards and a defensive mistake by the Chinooks allowed the Mallards to cross the plate. Komar had a fresh arm, so Madison was held to only one run in the bottom of the first. Through the next four innings, it would be a defensive battle between the two teams. After the Chinooks threatened in the seventh, the error bug struck once again. After a hit batter and a single by the Mallards, a costly error committed by the third baseman allowed the inning to continue and it allowed the Mallards to extend their league. At the end of the seventh inning, the Mallards were leading the Chinooks 4-0.
Moving to the top of the eighth, the Chinooks offense needed to get on the board. With two outs, Izaya Fullard, another new Chinook acquisition, would launch a home run to give the Lakeshore Chinooks their first run of the game. It looked as if the Chinooks offense had got to the Madison pitching. The Chinooks would be turned away after scoring their only run of the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, with a walk being allowed and with the help of wild pitch, the Mallards were able to get the run right back. The game moved to the top of ninth where the Chinooks started off the inning right. A single by Dalton Wingo would give Lakeshore some hope for a rally. A morale blowing double play would follow the lead off single. Justin Olson and Cameron Hart would draw walks and it once again felt like the Chinooks were about to cut into the Mallard lead. The rally and the game were ended on a strikeout.
The Chinooks faced one of the best pitchers in the Northwoods league tonight. Pitching did the best they could, but when you face someone like Lowell Schipper, who holds an ERA of 0.90, it is going to be tough to generate some offense. To face a veteran pitcher like Schipper, the young Chinooks offense held their own.
Defensive struggles continue to hinder this talented team. Look for this team to come together, fix the defensive errors, and look for them to start winning some games.
The Chinooks travel back to Kapco Park to finish the two game set against the Mallards at 11:35 a.m.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 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.
