Mequon, WI – The Chinooks continued to keep the momentum in their 8-5 win against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders on Thursday night. 

The Chinooks (6-3) started the scoring in the first inning taking a 3-0 lead over the Dock Spiders (4-6). Joey Spence brought in the Chinook’s first three runs with a base clearing double to right field. 

The Dock Spiders were held hitless until the third facing the Chinook’s starting pitcher, Joe Glassy (1-0, 1.80 ERA). Glassy pitched three innings and allowed three runs on two hits, recording three strikeouts. 

The Chinooks continued to bring the runs across the plate in the bottom of the second inning when Michael Seegers hit a line drive past the shortstop into left-center field, scoring Bryce Stober to take a 4-0 lead after he led off with a line drive up the middle stealing second and third.

“Those three runs were big early, and we had a lead, and they were able to extend and get back in it, but we were able to put some good at-bats together, ” said head coach Travis Akre. 

The Dock Spiders made it a one-run game in the top of the third inning. With back-to-back walks, the Dock Spiders soon found their first runs across the plate with back-to-back RBI singles. 

Jackson Reid (3-0, 4.63 ERA) came into pitch for the Chinooks in the fourth inning and shut the Dock Spiders down. Reid had five strikeouts for his season high and allowed one run on one hit.  

“I thought Jackson Reid threw especially well in the middle of the ball game and that was big,” Akre said. “That just kind of allowed us to separate at that point.”

In the bottom of the fourth inning the Chinooks took a 5-3 lead when Aidan Longwell ripped a single up the middle with his bat flying into the stands, scoring Michael Seegers. 

The top of the fifth Reid sat the Dock Spiders down in order on strikeouts to send the Chinooks to bat with a wave of momentum. 

“I’ve been working on my slider and change up a lot and tonight I feel like I had them and it’s been the best it’s been all summer,” Reid said. “I think our pitching staff is really deep, we have a bunch of guys that can come in and our starting pitching has been tremendous the past few weeks…I think everyone is kind of hitting their groove and we are in a really good spot.”

The Chinooks scored one more run in the fifth after John Bay reached base on a stand-up double that hit the bottom of the right field fence. Bay reached third on a wild pitch and then scored on a passed ball to take a 6-3 lead. 

The Dock Spiders started to rally at the plate, leading off with a double and scoring a run on an RBI groundout in the top of the sixth to shrink the Chinooks lead to two. 

The run scored by the Dock Spiders didn’t affect the Chinooks lead by much as Stephen Hrustich hit a two-run homer over the Backyard Patio in left field at Moonlight Graham Field at Kapco Park to take an 8-4 lead. 

The Dock Spiders were then put up against the Chinooks Mitch Mueller in the top of the eighth who is one of the four Chinooks to be selected to play in the Northwoods League All-Star game next week. 

Mueller (3-1, 0.86 ERA) in his 11 appearance this season continued the spectacular pitching for the Chinooks. Mueller in his two innings pitched allowed one run on two hits keeping his hot streak on the rubber. 

The Dock Spiders held the Chinooks hitless in the eighth inning, sending themselves into the ninth with one last chance at bat. The Dock Spiders started a two out rally when Tyler Hawkins hit a double to left center field. After the throw got away from the Chinooks and rolled towards first base, Hawkins found himself going home to score. The Dock Spiders one batter rally was discontinued as they fell 8-5. 

The Chinooks will head to Fond du Lac for game two of the series tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m.