MADISON (WYATT BAUMEYER). — After a come-from-behind victory over the Madison Mallards Saturday night, the Lakeshore Chinooks couldn’t finish off the series sweep on Sunday.
Despite the Chinooks taking an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out single by third baseman Tyler Preece, the club managed just two more hits the rest of the way en route to an 8-1 loss at Warner Park in Madison.
A significant reason for Lakeshore’s offensive struggles was Mallard starter left-hander Isaac Milburn, who spun eight innings – his longest start – of one-run baseball. The senior from Purdue kept the Chinooks off balance all afternoon, striking out six.
Conversely, the Lakeshore pitching staff failed to keep the Mallards’ bats quiet.
Lakeshore started right-hander Jack Hagen, and the junior from UW-Whitewater ran into trouble right out of the gate.
In the bottom of the first, Hagen allowed back-to-back singles to Madison center fielder Jordy Lopez and second baseman Dominic Jacoby to tie the game.
The right-hander labored through 2 and ⅔ innings, allowing three earned runs and seven hits. However, the Chinooks’ bullpen kept the game within reach in the meantime.
Right-hander Logan Schulfer and left-hander Alex Kuntz tossed a combined 3 and ⅓ scoreless innings, giving the team a fighting chance to tie the game. Kuntz even had four strikeouts in his multi-inning appearance, his fifth time doing so.
But with the dominance of Mallards’ starter Milburn, the Chinooks could only stay in the game for so long.
Right-hander Michael Caruso entered for Lakeshore in the seventh and failed to secure a single out while allowing three runs.
In relief of Caruso came Arthur Liebau, but the game had slipped too far away by that point. Liebau allowed two additional runs over the game’s final two frames.
Lakeshore heads home with a promising series split in one of the hardest places to win in all of the Northwoods League.
Despite dropping Sunday’s finale, the Chinooks’ late-game rally on Saturday gives hope for a promising week to follow.
Lakeshore heads north to take on the Green Bay Rockers for the first time in 2025 on Monday. Right-hander Nate Gray is expected to start.
