The Lakeshore Chinooks (8-11) looked to split the series against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (10-9) on Sunday afternoon. They managed to do that, rallying in the ninth inning to defeat them (9-7) at Witter Field.
The Rafters got on the board at the first chance they got. In the bottom of the first, Lakeshore starter Colin Dailey gave up a single and a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. Will Johannes then committed an error on a grounder to first, which allowed Wisconsin Rapids to go ahead 1-0.
Jack Gurevitch, who hit three home runs in the series opener, kept the line moving as he singled to left field, extending the Rafters’ lead to two runs. The Chinooks didn’t record their first out in the inning until the fifth batter grounded out.
Anthony Galason then hit a RBI double that Drew Townsend tried to dive for but came up empty-handed. Dailey eventually got out of the jam by striking out the ninth batter he faced, but Wisconsin Rapids had a 3-0 lead heading into the second inning.
Lakeshore pushed one run across in the next frame. Brady Counsell hit a leadoff single up the middle and advanced to second on a pass ball. Will Johannes walked to put two runners on and Counsell stole third on a delayed steal. Counsell then scored after Jason Schaaf hit a sacrifice fly to center field.
In the top of the fourth, Lakeshore’s offense continued to hum as Counsell hit his second single of the day and Josh Overbeek reached on an error to put runners on first and second. Counsell and Overbeek completed a double steal and that would pay off as Gabe Roessler went on to hit a sac fly that made the score 3-2.
The Rafters scored one run in the fourth inning off a fielder’s choice. With one out and a runner on third, Johannes fielded a groundball at first base and tried to throw out the runner advancing home, but it was too late as Wisconsin Rapids went up 4-2 heading into the fifth inning.
Wisconsin Rapids extended its lead in the sixth inning when Ryan Mullen entered the game for Lakeshore. Mullen walked the first batter he faced and struck out the next. Jack Basseer came up next and hit a double to deep left field that put runners on second and third.
Mullen walked another batter to load the bases and an RBI groundout by Gurevitch allowed another run to cross for the Rafters, putting them up 5-2.
Lakeshore plated two runs in the following inning. Drew Townsend drew a leadoff walk and Avery Owusu-Asiedu hit a double off the left field wall that scored Townsend from first, making the score 5-3. Owusu-Asiedu then tagged on a sac fly and reached third safely. He would cross home on a pass ball and just like that, the Chinooks trailed by one heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The Chinooks’ offense exploded in the top of the ninth. Counsell hit a one-out double to put the tying run on second. Josh Overbeek delivered in the next at-bat. His RBI single up the middle tied the game up at five. Johannes then reached on an error and Cody Kelly drew a walk to load up the bases with only one out.
Roessler put Lakeshore ahead 6-5 when he slipped a single through the left side of the field. Ross drew a walk to load the bases once more in the inning. Townsend then hit a sac fly to center field to allow another run to score, making it 7-5 in favor of the Chinooks. Owusu-Asiedu singled down the left field line to score one run and Spence drew a bases-loaded walk to cap off a five-run inning.
The Rafters scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Gradin Taschner closed out the game to lead Lakeshore to its eighth win of the season.
Lakeshore recorded eleven hits on the day and drew eleven walks. Counsell went 3-for-6, scoring three runs and stealing two bases. Owusu-Asiedu and Ross each had two hits and combined for three RBIs.
James Reese (W, 2-0) pitched 2.2 innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs while striking out five batters.
The Lakeshore Chinooks will travel to Green Bay to take on the Green Bay Rockers tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CST.
