Mequon, Wis. – The Lakeshore Chinooks snapped their four-game losing streak on Saturday night, taking down the Traverse City Pit Spitters 11-4.
Rocking the 10th-anniversary jersey, the Chinooks (11-11) also rocked the Pit Spitters (17-5) at the plate. The Chinooks outhit the Pit Spitters 11 to 5.
The Chinooks and the Pit Spitters were quiet at the plate until the third inning when the Pit Spitters took a 1-0 lead over the Chinooks. With back-to-back walks to start the inning, all that was needed was a Collin Summerhill sacrifice fly ball to left field to score a run.
Jackson Reid (3-0, 4.30 ERA) got the start on the mound for the Chinooks pitching three innings. Reid allowed one run on one hit and had a season-high of six strikeouts.
Soon after the Chinooks found themselves behind, they got rowdy at the plate taking control and a 2-1 lead. Michael Seegers led off the inning with a hit up the middle and Aidan Longwell had an infield single. Ty Olejnik brought in Seegers and Longwell to take the lead with a ground-rule double over the left field fence.
In the bottom of the fourth, Zach Storbakken in his Chinook debut hit a two-run home run over the Back Yard Patio in left field. Storbakken brought in Seegers to score after he reached on a 10-pitch walk taking a 4-1 lead.
“He threw me a first pitch curve ball and I kind of knew that I was going to get a fast ball there, so I just wanted to make sure I put a good high intense swing on it, and I did, and I got a hold of it,” said Storbakken.
Tommy Lamb (2-1, 6.34 ERA) came into pitch for the Chinooks in the top of the fourth inning. Lamb pitched four innings earning the win allowing no runs on three hits and had four strikeouts.
Tallying the second home run of the night for the Chinooks was Matthias Haas to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. The Chinooks scored two more runs in the inning taking a 7-1 lead. The other two runs came from back-to-back RBI doubles from Seegers and Storbakken.
The home runs continued for the Chinooks as Joey Spence hit his fifth homer of the season in the bottom of the seventh to take a 9-1 lead. Spence has hit a home run in the past three games. Spence in his two-run home run brought in Andy Nelson after he led off the inning with a walk. The Chinooks scored two more runs due to a Seegers RBI groundout and a Longwell single to right field.
“Credit to these guys for strapping it up and playing hard tonight and… setting the tone and getting some early innings,” said Field Manager Travis Akre.
Johnny Czeslawski (0-4, 6.07 ERA) came into pitch in the top of the eighth. Czeslawski closed it out for the Chinooks allowing three runs on one hit.
In the top of the eighth the Pit Spitters found a lone spark at the plate in Alec Atkinson as he lined the ball down the right field line allowing two runs to score after bases were loaded on walks. The throw from Nelson in right field was in time to get Atkinson out at second to end the inning.
The Pit Spitters scored one last run in the top of the ninth inning after Evan Orzech reached first on an error and found himself in scoring position as he was followed by a walk. Orzech advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on another Chinook error.
The Chinooks look to get the series sweep against the Pit Spitters tomorrow as they take them on again at Moonlight Graham Field at Kapco Park, first pitch is at 1:35 p.m.
