By Deann Davidson

Mequon, WI – At Kapco Park, celebrities and baseball fans joined forces at the MACC Fund Celebrity Softball Game to knock childhood cancer out of the park. Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewer, Hall of Famer, and Chinook owner, and his team faced the opposing team, captained by Jon McGlocklin, Milwaukee Bucks legend and Co-Founder and President of the MACC Fund.

The MACC Fund (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer) was founded in 1976 by Jon McGlockin and Eddie Doucette and has contributed greatly to childhood cancer and related blood disorder research. Proceeds from the event will be going to the MACC Fund to help their cause.

The event started with a Home Run Derby at noon and continued with the softball game afterwards. In the Derby, 10 participants took part in the first round and hit a combined total of 47 home runs. Tim, from Broken Bat Brewery donated a total of $450 dollars to the MACC Fund, $50 per home run he hit. Greg Matzek, from TMJ4, hit 10 homers to advance to the finals and face Alex Uhan, pinch hitting for Desmond Mason, who hit a total of 15 in the first round. Before the final round started, it was announced that there would only be five outs in the final, rather than seven. Matzek donated $250 to the MACC Fund in order to receive 10 outs instead and Uhan matched that donation. Matzek was up first and hit another 10 home runs, but was defeated when Uhan hit 11 with only 8 outs.

Jon McGlocklin and Eddie Doucette threw out first pitches after saying a few words. Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner were honored and Yount said words on behalf of the three, thanking everyone for coming and raising money for the MACC Fund. The Trio then each took their positions on the field and pitched to each other. Finally, a child who has benefited from the MACC Fund and will be done with chemotherapy on Thursday was welcomed to the mound and rang a bell before throwing out the final ceremonial pitch.

The scoring of the softball game started in the top of the first when Brian Butch hit a ground rule double to put runners at second and third and a sacrifice fly from Desmond Mason brought the first run across the plate to give Team McGlocklin the lead. In the bottom of the first, Team Yount had the bases loaded with Paul Molitor on third, Robin Yount on second and Jim Gantner on first with two outs, but the Trio was left stranded.

Team McGlocklin tacked on five runs in the fifth with an RBI from Mitch “Thunder” Nelles followed by a single from Scott Doffek. Joel Stave hit a two-run homer two batters later and a RBI-single gave Team McGlocklin a six-run lead going into the bottom of the inning where Team Yount went down in order.

In the third, Team McGlocklin tacked on three runs with RBIs from Nelles, Doffek, and Dr. David Margolis to make it 8-0. In the middle of the inning, Kapco Park took part in a Miracle Minute to see how much money could be raised for the MACC Fund in one minute. A generous donor then offered to match the first $1500 raised. Team Yount failed to score in the bottom of the third.

In the fourth, Team McGlocklin added another three runs to make it 12-0. In the bottom of the inning, Team Yount started their comeback after RBIs from Austin Aries, Greg Matzek, and Paul Wagner to cut the deficit to eight runs.

In the top of the fifth, Team McGlocklin was sent down in order. Team Yount got down to business and scored six runs in the bottom of the inning before Team McGlocklin was able to record an out to make it 12-10. With one out, Ted Perry hit a double that scored two runs and tied the game at 12, only for Team Yount to take the lead on the next batter with an inside the park home run to make it 15-12.

In the top of the sixth inning, Team McGlocklin retook the lead with an RBI-double from Brian Butch followed by a single and a three-run blast from Home Run Derby Winner Alex Uhan to make it 16-15. In the bottom of the sixth, the leadoff runner for Team Yount reached but was followed by a fielder’s choice to get the lead runner out. Dario Melendez hit a ground rule double to put runners at second and third and Austin Aries came up bit with the walk-off hit for Team Yount to drive in two runs and give Team Yount the win, 17-16.

In the middle of the sixth, the check for the event was presented to the MACC Fund. James Kacmarcik, president of Kapco Metal Stamping and Majority Owner of the Chinooks, donated $10,000 on top of what had been raised during the softball game for a grand total of $102,889.52 to aid in childhood cancer and related blood disorder research.

Many of the participants shared similar feelings about the MACC Fund and stated that they believe it is a great organization doing a lot of good for children and were excited to partake in the game. When asked about the event, Robin Yount shared, “The main thing is, we raised a lot of money. We raised over $100,000. For an afternoon of having a lot of fun, playing softball, a lot of wonderful people came out and participated in the event. But more than that, we had a bunch of fans come out and donate their money to the MACC Fund, just one of our greatest charities I think we could ever get behind… The MACC Fund, I think, has a very special place here in Wisconsin.”

This event is the last of the year and the ending to the Lakeshore Chinooks’ Summer of ’19 campaign other than the last two home games of the season. The inaugural MACC Celebrity Softball Game was a success and benefited an incredible organization.

If interested in learning more or donated to the MACC Fund, check out their website at https://maccfund.org/

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.