Mequon, Wis.– After a close game through the first four innings, an extremely consistent Lakeshore Chinooks (15-17) lineup slowly pulled away from the Green Bay Booyah (10-22), before blowing the game wide open in the bottom of the seventh, resulting in a 13-3 win. 

Winners of their second straight, the Chinooks have found their rhythm after dropping four straight games to end the month of June. Field manager Travis Akre spoke on this new streak saying, “We flipped the page into July and that’s what we want to keep rolling with and finish this first half strong.”

Freshman pitcher Dorsey Chatham started on the mound for Lakeshore, pitching in his fifth game of the season, Friday night being his first start. 

Chatham threw 49 pitches Friday night, his third highest dating back to his season at Xavier. The aspiring starter is working his way towards becoming a rotation man for the Musketeers.

“That was this whole summer is about, being able to give guys the oppurtunity,” commented Akre. 

In this opportunity, Chatham struggled at times, allowing three earned runs on four hits in 2 and ⅓ innings of work. 

Nonetheless, Chatham received immediate support from his hitters, who put up two early runs in the bottom of the first inning. 

The dangerous 1-2 punch of Griffin Doersching and Jackson Gray got on base early in the inning, followed by a single from clean up hitter Collin Mathews. Doersching, known for his power more than his speed on the base path, was gunned down at home trying to score from second. 

With two outs in the inning, catcher Josh Glenn stepped to the plate and blasted a single to left field, this time scoring Gray and Mathews, who reached second on a stolen base. 

However, this 2-0 lead didn’t last after the Booyah scored three unanswered runs in the second and third innings. 

Lifting Chatham late in the third inning, left hander from Crystal Lake, Illinois, Jason “Cheeks” Decicco threw his best outing of the season, shutting down the third inning Booyah attack and continuing his dominance in the next three frames. 

Decicco allowed just four men to reach base in the 3 and ⅔ innings he pitched, conceding zero runs and keeping Lakeshore in striking distance of the 3-2 Booyah lead. 

“I just wanted to keep the game where it was.” Decicco said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much and punch guys out. I just wanted to get the ball in play and the players do the work behind me.”

After shutting down the top of the fourth inning, the Lakeshore bats saw an opportunity to get themselves back into the ball game, ultimately scoring two runs and taking the lead. 

Getting their first three men on base and loading the bases, Connor Kimple stepped up to the plate with the opportunity to bring home Glenn, who stood just 90 feet from home. Kimple converted, smacking a ball deep enough into the outfield to score Glenn and tie the game up on a sacrifice fly, followed by Mike Sears, who brought in Stephen Hrustich on a sacrifice fly the very next at bat. 

“Coming in and knowing the hitters behind you will score runs with you makes it really easy to do your thing out there and help me pitch to my strengths.”

Taking a 4-3 lead, Lakeshore never looked back, scoring nine more unanswered runs. 

“I thought guys put some good swings on some baseballs tonight, that was the difference in the game.” Akre said. “We were able to score some runs and were consistent with it. We scored in every inning except for two, that way we were able to put the pressure on them.” 

This summer, Akre constantly conveys the message that his Chinook hitters need to do their job at the plate and not try to play hero-ball. 

Friday night, his hitters did just that, especially in the bottom of the seventh inning, where Lakeshore blew the game open, scoring five runs on only four hits. Batting around in the frame, the Chinooks took advantage of a Booyah error and wild pitch, helping plate a few insurance runs in the blowout victory. 

Following Friday night’s game, the Chinooks embark on a three game road trip. Starting Saturday night in Green Bay, facing the Booyah in the second leg of the series before traveling to Wisconsin Rapids for a two game series on July fourth and fifth.