After the inaugural celebrity softball game sponsored by the Macc Fund, the Lakeshore Chinooks and Wisconsin Rapids Rafters would start the final series of the season. The Rafters lead the Great Lakes West Division and have two games to solidify their playoff spot.
It would be another rough start for Lakeshore pitching as they would give up two runs to begin the game. Lakeshore would try to answer back, and the Chinooks would get the man they need after Cole Barr would be hit by a pitch. He would try to steal second, but he would be thrown out. The Chinook’s would go scoreless through one.
The second inning would be uneventful both teams would be retired. Anthony Galason would start the Rafters would triple with one out and the Rafters had another man in scoring position. He would be singles in and the Rafters lead grew to three runs. The Lakeshore Chinooks would be shutdown in order in the bottom of the third. The fourth inning would be the second scoreless inning of the game. Both teams would put runners on but fail to bring them around.
Anthony Galason would double to start the fifth. With that double, all he needed was a single to complete the cycle. A single by the Rafters would bring in a run and another single would put runners at the corners. Aaron Winkler would work around those singles to get out of the inning.
Lakeshore would put one runner on in the fifth, but they would fail to score and through five, the Rafters led 4-0. Fast-forward to the top of the seventh, The Rafters would strike big. Two singles and a couple wild pitches would allow the Rafters to threaten with one out. Tony Grabowske would take the mound in the seventh. The Rafter would strike for six runs in the seventh and the lead would bloat to 10-0. Lakeshore would answer with 2-runs after a Jake Thompson single.
The game would move quickly through the eighth as both teams would fail to add on to their run totals. In the top the ninth, the Rafters would have two runners on with one out. Anthony Galason would come to the plate. He would drive a single through the infield for the Rafters first ever cycle. An error by Cole Barr would allow the Rafters to score two more runs. Two more singles would bring in two more runs. The lead was up till 12 for the Rafters. The Chinooks would need a miracle to rally from this 12-run defect. The Chinooks would quickly be down to their last out. With two runners on Daryl Myeres step to the plate. Cole Barr would try to score on a wild pitch, and he would be tagged out at home. The Rafters handed the Chinooks a 14-2 loss.
Lakeshore and the Rafters will end the season tomorrow with the final matchup at Kapco Park. First pitch is at 5:05 p.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.