Eli Benes

MEQUON, Wi.- After completing a regular season that saw them earn their most wins in a season since 2014, the Lakeshore Chinooks historic season ended Monday night when they fell to the Madison Mallards 11-4, dropping the divisional series two games to none.

The Chinooks trailed for the entirety of the contest, failing to stage a comeback after allowing seven runs through the first two innings. Scoring two runs in the bottom half of the first inning, the Chinooks added just two more runs the rest of the way.

Trailing 10-3 after five complete innings, the Chinooks received a solid outing from Zach Gibbs as he went the rest of the way holding Madison to a run.

Spending the season with the Chinooks on a full-season contract, Gibbs finished the year tied second in pitching appearances with 17.

This achievement for Gibbs nearly didn’t happen — as after an outing against Royal Oak on July 4 where the right hander allowed three earned runs in two innings pitched, Gibbs told Field Manager Brian Gregory he was planning on going home to California and ending his season with the Chinooks.

Recalling telling Gibbs to think over his decision, Gregory Monday night said Gibbs the next day told the field manager he would stay with the club.

Pitching to a 7.80 ERA in 15 innings of work up until July 4, Gibbs cut that ERA into half the rest of the way, allowing nine earned runs in 21 innings for a 3.86 ERA. Staying with the team, Gibbs got the opportunity to be apart of the club’s first playoff berth since 2017.

“The [guys] don’t realize what they’re capable of until you get put into tough situations and you figure out who you are,” Gregory said. “Growth and maturity from them and learning what they’re capable of, really makes you happy as a manager that they were able to do those things.”

Taking over Field Managing duties for Mikel Moreno starting July 4, Gregory, the club’s previous assistant coach, navigated the Chinooks to a 20-12 second-half record. Under Gregory, the Chinooks enjoyed three win streaks of three or more games — including a seven-game win streak near the end of July.

Inheriting a 23-15 record, Gregory said the transition was seamless, with Moreno letting him have autonomy when it came to working with players and game management.

“You always think you’re tough until you meet somebody a little bit tougher, and then you try to mimic them,” Gregory said.

A large contributor to the Northwoods League’s fourth-most winningest team of the 2026 season, Gregory said his players did a lot for him during his summer with the club.

“We talk about as a team being able to make a positive impact on somebody’s life, and they certainly did that with me. I hope I did that for them,” Gregory said.

Joining the Chinooks in the second half for his fourth season with the club, infielder and nearby Whitefish Bay product Jack Counsell sang Gregory’s praises after Monday’s loss.

“He’s awesome — he prepares us really well for the games and was someone you could go to if you needed an off-day or if you [needed] to have a conversation — he was always there for us,” Counsell said.

Entering the summer with 68 career games under his belt, Counsell in 28 games played set career-highs in major categories including slugging percentage, OPS, walks, hits and RBIs. Counsell additionally collected 11 multi-hit games while finishing fourth on the team with a .347 batting average.

Playing in 98 career games for the Chinooks, Counsell was a ‘defacto captain’ for a club that welcomed 58 newcomers throughout the season.

“He knows the game very well and was somebody that guys relied upon… What was nice to see is that guys try to mirror that and become that because they see his success,” Gregory said. “They see how he carries himself, and they want to emulate that.”

Top 10 for the club in career games played, Counsell went through a lot of emotions following the end of the team’s run.

[I] met some great people this year [and] made some great relationships. Obviously we had a heck of a team, so it sucks to [see] it come to an end but you’re also happy it happened,” Counsell said.

Seeing the Chinooks go to the playoffs for the first time during his tenure with the club, Counsell helped Lakeshore go over .500 for the first time since 2022. A big reason for that, was the club’s success at Moonlight Graham Field, their home park.

With a 29-7 regular season record at Moonlight Graham Field, the Chinooks set a franchise record for most home wins in a single season.

“When teams came here, they were worried to play us and we were fierce competitors. That’s all you can ask for,” Gregory said.

Though they fell short in the end, the 2026 Chinooks enjoyed quite the success for a club that went 148-206 their past five seasons, while finishing last in the Great Lakes West Division twice during the stretch.