Wisconsin Rapids, WI – Coming off five straight victories to Wisconsin Rapids, Lakeshore looked to make it six in a row and sweep their last two series. A strong start for the Chinooks made that reality seem certain, but an out-of-control sixth kept the Rafters afloat and led them to victory.
Nick Paulsen got the start for Wisconsin (WI) Rapids, and quickly sunk hopes of getting a victory to end the Rafters’ recent skid.
In the first inning, the first three batters reached on balls that never left the infield. An error followed by catcher interference and a collision between Paulsen and his third basemen gave the ‘Nooks bases loaded and no outs. Schwalbach, Roessler, and Wisdom all drove in runs including a bases-clearing double for Ty Wisdom off the center field wall. Four runs were pushed across in an inning that couldn’t have gone worse to start the game.
Back to work in the second, Deboskie tripled to left field followed by a Nerat single to extend the lead and knock Paulsen out of the game. It was his worst start this season and another short outing for an opposing starter against the Chinooks who are red-hot offensively.
Sam Arnold replaced Paulsen going into the third and the storyline continued. He got one out, allowed four men to reach and gave up two runs on a Deboskie double off the top of the wall in center field. Another just missed deep-drive for the Chinooks, but two runs nonetheless. Running away with the game at 7-0, the Rafters sent Heard to the mound and he would silence Lakeshore for the first time in the game.
Andrew Neill tossed 3.2 scoreless innings for Lakeshore and the offensive onslaught gave the bullpen room to breathe, but for the second time in three games an abundance of runs would come off the arms of relievers. Arthur Libeau came in to the game in the fourth getting Liolios to strikeout looking for out number three.
Returning to the mound in the fifth, Libeau wasn’t so quick to get back to the dugout. After striking out the first two men he saw, the Rafters found some life on a pair of hits and walk. That removed the goose-egg that filled the scoreboard before Shafer struck out to end the inning.
Replaced by Switalski to start the sixth, Lakeshore looked to close the door late in the game. Last time the teams faced each other, he tossed 1.2 innings striking out 5 keeping Rafters off the bases. Things couldn’t have gone differently for him in today’s heat, of the four batters he faced he only recorded one out, walking the other three to load the bases. Herron and Redman would come in for the ‘Nooks in the inning with all three pitchers recording an out. Totaling 82 pitches, the strikezone was hard to locate. Only six hits would fall for the Rafters, but free passes guided them to a 14-run inning and 15-7 lead.
In response, Mason Schwalbach led off the seventh sending a bomb over the fence after just missing a pitch earlier in the game.
Scoring would end there and the ‘Nooks would see their lead and the sweep slip away after an inning that spiraled rapidly. Lakeshore will look for a rebound game against the league-leading 17-3 Wausau Woodchucks Tuesday. Back in Mequon, the Chinooks handed Wausau their second loss of the season on June 7th by a one-run margin. The Woodchucks went on a skid where they lost 3 of 4, their only 3 losses on the season. All by one-run, the bullpen will need a strong outing backed by the booming Lakeshore offense.
Bullpen arms look reset with the off-day Monday and start fresh before the two game series. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm CST at Athletic Park in Wausau, WI.
Written by Sam Marchant.
