Mequon, Wis – On a hot summer night in June, the Chinooks brought the heat to win in extra innings for the second time this season. Lakeshore (10-12) swept Wausau (10-12) in their two-game series at Moonlight Graham Field, moving them up in the standings as they sit two games out of second place in the Great Lakes West division. The game featured three home runs for the Chinooks as their power hitting helped propel them to the win.

Marc Lidd (0-0, 3.60 ERA), a Creighton University product, started off the mound tonight for Lakeshore and went three innings allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out three Wausau hitters.

The Chinooks got the ball rolling early with Matt Deprey drawing a two-out walk to put a runner on first base. Garrett Martin would follow up with a two-run blast to left center to put the team up 2-0 after the 1st. Things got interesting in the 2nd when the Woodchucks responded with their own two-run shot to left center by Camden Janik, which tied things up 2-2. Lakeshore stormed right back in the bottom of the 2nd as Caleb Bartolero hit a lead off double to put him on second with no outs. A groundout helped advance Bartolero to third and set up Jack Firestone, who hit a sacrifice fly to right field to put Lakeshore up 3-2 at the end of the second inning.

Both teams would go scoreless the next few frames until the 5th inning when the Chinooks helped add to their lead. Garrett Martin led off with a solo home run to left field to make the score 4-2. Martin, a junior at Oklahoma State University, now has 4 HR and 10 RBI in his first eight games with the Chinooks while batting .462.

The top of the 7th saw Wausau close the gap, with a double and single by the Woodchucks putting men on second and third base with one out. An error on a throw to first base allowed one runner to score, but a timely double play by Lakeshore put an end to the inning. John Bay got to work in the bottom of the 7th, hitting a solo home run to center and putting Lakeshore up 5-3.

Wausau used the eighth and ninth innings to make things interesting, scoring one run on a wild pitch in the top of the 8th and another run on an infield hit to tie the game 5-5 going into the bottom of the 9th. The Chinooks got an infield hit themselves with two outs, but failed to capitalize with a runner on, sending the game to extra innings.

Calvin Bickerstaff (W, 2-2) pitched the 9th and 10th innings for Lakeshore, giving up only one run and striking out three batters. His scoreless 10th inning helped set the team up for an extra innings win. Northwoods League rules put a runner on second base to start the inning, much like the current extra inning rules of the MLB. Lakeshore used this opportunity to lay down a sacrifice bunt, advancing the runner to third base. Matt Deprey delivered with a single to right to bring the runner home and secure the win.

“It was a lot of fun. It was a grinder game close to the end, and it was good to just get it over with” Deprey said. “We have a lot of new players that are contributing…its a new team compared to what we had earlier in the year and we’re all coming together and playing as a team.”

Coach Travis Akre has led the Chinooks to a 10-12 start on the summer and the team is now 8-4 in their last twelve games played.

“Its exciting, it brings the guys together and they leave the ball park with a smile” Akre said of the teams walk-off wins. “We liked the match up today and guys got things going early. Garrett Martin had a really big day offensively, he put some good swings on early and helped us generate some runs. It was good to see John Bay get a big fly there as well.”

The Chinooks will face the Green Bay Rockers tomorrow at home before going back on the road Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm tomorrow night at Moonlight Graham Field.