MADISON, Wis. — Ty Wisdom’s two home runs, Ethan Brown’s 4 RBIs and the Lakeshore Chinooks’ (11-22) 13 runs weren’t enough to down the Madison Mallards (25-9) as the Great Lakes West division-leaders fought back for a 14-13 walk-off win in the 11th inning.
“This game today sums up our season a little bit,” hitting coach Levi Jensen said. “We had some big swings in the beginning, big swings in the middle and big swings in the end but we beat ourselves.”
A back-and-forth affair
In the second inning, the Chinooks fell behind a run but the left-handed Wisdom (Kansas) tied it back up with a big fly onto the grass in left. Yet, reflecting on the swing, Wisdom surprisingly didn’t have many positives to say about Warner Park’s unique dimensions.
“It’s kind of difficult to (play) in,” the versatile defender said. “You got short porch left, short porch right and it’s really big in the gaps, which makes it hard for the outfielders to play in.”
In the top of the third, Lakeshore drew three straight walks to load the bases. After Brown (Dartmouth) drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, Wisdom officially made the affair “Taco Thursday” with another oppo-taco. The “weird” dinger, as Wisdom said, pushed the Chinooks’ lead to three.
“I shoot for the middle gap-to-gap, and I noticed the pitch was going outer half,” the second baseman said. “I kinda let my bat do the rest.”
“We had a tough loss yesterday so that big third was great for us to get some mojo,” Jensen said of the first of Lakeshore’s two four-run frames.
However, the playoff-bound Mallards mooched the mojo right back. With a home run in the fourth and a sac fly in the fifth, the ‘Nooks lead had vanished.
Tension rises as pitchers settle in
In the fifth, the Chinooks threatened with a double from Dominic Kibler (Kent State), a single from Brown and a walk from Wisdom loaded the bases with one out. Then, shortstop Billy Scaldeferri (Grand Canyon) scalded a low line-drive right at the Madison third baseman as he shaded right, snatching the momentum right back from Lakeshore before the Mallards made it through the inning unscathed.
“Billy kinda got screwed with the bases loaded,” said Wisdom, who watched it unfold from first base. “That gets through and it’s probably scoring three.”
The middle innings went by quickly with the score still knotted at five, but in the top of the seventh, the barn-burner of a game kept up its high scoring. Scaldeferri got his redemption of the near-miss in the fifth with a sure groundout to put the Chinooks back up two.
Madison brought it back even in the seventh with two runs of its own on center fielder Korbyn Dickerson’s second home run of the contest. Lakeshore replied in short order. After Kibler loaded the bases with the third of his four walks — nothing new for the catcher, whose .497 OBP leads all Chinooks with at least 10 games this season — Brown ripped a two-run single to center, giving Lakeshore a two-run cushion.
But just when things looked like they had finally settled down, the Chinooks set sail for the bottom of the ninth, where they rode with hard-throwing right-hander Ben Kasten (Madison College). Playing in his college town as a former Mallard, the fastball-curveball reliever was an obvious pick for the save opportunity.
“His coach is on the other team, and any time you get a situation like that a guy just wants it more,” manager Mitch Rogers said of Kasten. “That’s the kind of guy you wanna put the ball in the hands of.”
Wild scenes as the game heads to extras
Unfortunately, Kasten fell behind the 8-ball early with a four-pitch walk, a mental mistake with Dickerson on deck. The Madison batter continued to rake with a double to left, putting Lakeshore in real danger. As tension in the stadium hit its climax, fans stood up to cheer on their Mallards. They tied it at nine, sending the game to extras.
Yet somehow, the game reached a new climax. The Chinooks scored four runs in the 10th after leadoff hitter “Tristan Ellis’ bunt single was huge”, Wisdom said. Among other big plays in the inning were Brown’s and Wisdom’s bases-loaded walks and Scaldeferri’s stinging sac fly. That score built a 13-9 lead, but Madison wasn’t done.
Naturally, Dickerson capped an impressive four-run rally to put Madison in a winning position. Left-hander Isaiah Terrell (College of Lake County) worked his way out of the jam, but the damage was done, both to the scoreboard and to the Chinooks after two straight comeback innings.
Madison would win the game in the next frame, putting to rest the 3 hour, 57 minute affair as it brought cheers upon the over-6,000-fan crowd. The Mallards join the Wausau Woodchucks as the division’s representatives in the Northwoods League Playoffs starting this Sunday.
Lakeshore fell 14-13 to Madison in the 11th in its third-to-last game of the summer. Despite the Chinooks’ struggles, Rogers and Jensen say countless positive memories and continued player development are focuses heading into the end of the year.
As the Chinooks look to close out the 2024 summer on a positive note, they head to Fond du Lac for a two-game series. Both Friday and Saturday’s games are set for their respective first pitches at 6:35 p.m. (CST).
Article written by David Jacobs.
