Eli Benes

MEQUON, Wi.- The Lakeshore Chinooks capped off their home opener with a bang. Thanks to a Carter Kutz walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Chinooks defeated the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 6-5 on Friday, May 29.

Kutz ambushed the first pitch he saw from Fond du Lac pitcher Tag Pacot, and sent Pacot’s pitch deep into the night sky for the win. 

The Hartford native attended Chinooks game growing up, and said hitting the walk-off was a full circle moment.

“The Chinooks put on such a great fan atmosphere and I feel blessed to be able to send the fans home happy,” Kutz said.

The home run was Kutz’s only hit of the day, but it couldn’t have come at a better time. Kutz said his approach in his fifth at bat was different from his previous four at bats.

“It was to stay through the middle, like my coaches were telling me to,” Kutz said. “I definitely used a lot more in my hands.”

Before the huge swing from Kutz, the Chinooks received a solid start from pitcher Jackson Kobylarczyk. Kobylarczyk went five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits. 

Despite generating just three swings and misses, Kobylarczyk was able to escape bases loaded jams in the fourth and fifth inning. 

To help navigate traffic on the bases and get out of tough situations, Pitching Coach Lee Tunnell said Kobylarczyk did something as simple as brushing the dirt off the rubber and attaching any negative thoughts to that action. 

“We [have] to do what we can as pitchers to remember that the most important pitch we ever throw is the next one,” Tunnell said. “I’m proud of him, he did a great job.”

The Chinooks had new arrivals to the roster Friday, and they did not disappoint.

Vanderbilt products Cade Sears, Carson Quillen and Kea Aukai all produced hits in the top of the first inning and were responsible for the first two runs of the game. Collectively, the trio went 7-12 in their Chinooks debut.

Now 2-3 on the young season, the Chinooks will play game two of their three-set series  against the Dock Spiders tomorrow, May 30 at 5:05 pm CDT.