By Deann Davidson

Madison, WI – The Chinooks faced the Mallards at Warner Park for the second game of the series after falling short in the first in extra innings. The story was not the same tonight as the offense for Lakeshore overpowered the Mallards with a final score of 12-7.

Trenton Wallace took the mound for Lakeshore, a southpaw from Iowa, facing opposing pitcher Quinn Gudaitis, a righty out of Illinois Wesleyan University.

In the top of the first, the Chinooks were unable to capitalize with a runner on third, leaving them stranded after groundout to first from Jake Thompson and a strikeout from Nathan Aide. In the bottom of the inning, the Mallards took advantage of a leadoff walk to E.J. Ranel followed by a single by Ben Anderson to put runners at first and second. With Justice Bigbie batting, Ranel was caught stealing third with a throw from catcher, Gunner Hellstrom and Anderson took second. Bigbie was hit by a pitch, giving the Mallards runners at first and second with one out. The runners advanced on a wild pitch from Wallace with Benefield batting who proceeded to strikeout swinging for the second out. Austin Blazevic stepped to the plate and a passed ball allowed Anderson to score from third and a single from Blazevic scored Bigbie giving the Mallards had an early 2-0 lead.

In the second, Lakeshore capitalized on a leadoff walk to Daryl Myers. A Griffin Doersching strikeout was followed by a walk to Troy Black and a single from Hellstrom, loading the bases for the Chinooks. Justin Olson hit an RBI-single, cutting Madison’s lead in half. However, Lakeshore left the bases loaded after a flyout and a strikeout. The Mallards went down in order in the bottom of the inning.

Neither team scored in the third, but the Chinooks got hot in the fourth, scoring three runs. Troy Black worked a four-pitch walk and with one out, Olson walked on four pitches as well. After a strikeout for the second out, Cole Barr singled and scored Black and tie the game at two. Jake Thompson doubled and Olson and Barr scored on the play, giving the Chinooks a two-run lead over the Mallards. Madison was unable to answer in the bottom of the inning.

In the fifth, Eliot Turnquist relieved Gudaitis, who struck out Aide, but walked Myers. Myers stole second with Doersching batting and scored on an RBI-double from Doersching. Black walked, giving the Chinooks two runners on, but the inning ended on a double-play. In the bottom of the fifth, the Mallards went down in order.

In the sixth, the Chinooks failed to score, but Madison succeeded. With one out, Bigbie advanced to first on a dropped third strike and a single from Benefield put runners at first and second. Blazevic followed with a single and Bigbie scored on an error by right fielder Jake Artz. Benefield scored on a sacrifice fly from Nick Gile and the score was 5-4 and the Chinooks only had a one-run lead.

In the seventh, the Chinooks stepped up to the plate and scored three runs. Thompson flew out to left to start the inning, but David Dunn singled and a double from Myers put runners at second and third. Dunn scored on a groundout by Doersching. Black came to the plate and blasted a two-out, two-run homer to put the Lakeshore up 8-4. The Mallards answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Tony Grabowske came in to pitch for the Chinooks and with two runners on, gave up a home run to Bigbie to make it 8-7.

In the eighth, Chase Gockel was on the mound for the Mallards but after giving up walks to the first two batters he faced, Aidan Tyrell relieved him. Tyrell walked Barr who then advanced to third on an error by the first baseman, scoring Artz, and Olson. Thompson reached on a fielder’s choice and took second on an error by the first baseman. With Myers batting, Barr scored on a passed ball and a single from Doersching scored Thompson to make it 12-7. The Mallards were unable to overcome the deficit and Lakeshore took the second game of the series.

Thompson had four RBIs on the night and Doersching had three RBIs of his own. All but two of the Chinooks’ position players had hits and all but one reached base.

Lakeshore returns to Kapco Park to face the Green Bay Booyah who are first in the Great Lakes West Division at 10-4 while the Chinooks are tied for last at 6-8 in the second half of the season.

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.