Mequon, WI – Lakeshore took on the Mallards in the series finale before an off-day Monday. The Chinooks defeated Madison in a 7-5 comeback win.
Taking the mound for the Chinooks was Jim Jarecki who is 1-0 on the season with a 5.55 ERA. The starting pitcher for Madison was Trevor Marreel who has a 3-3 record and an ERA of 4.71.
Each pitcher faced the minimum in the first inning. In the top of the second, the leadoff man for the Mallards reached base after an error by Ronnie Sweeny III. A single followed by a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Nick Gile came to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to give Madison a 1-0 lead with runners at the corners and one out. Wade Stauss dropped an RBI-single into right. The third run crossed the plate on a groundout to third and Madison had a three-run lead over Lakeshore. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Griffin Doersching homered to left field to cut the deficit to two.
Jarecki got the first two outs of the third and was then relieved by Bailey Vuylsteke who got Austin Blazevic to fly out to center for the third out. With two outs in the bottom fo the third, Jake Thompson blasted a solo shot over the right field wall and it was a 3-2 ballgame.
In the top of the fourth, Drew Benefield drew a leadoff walk for the Mallards and a throwing error by Cole Barr put runners at second and third with no outs. Gile fouled out to Thompson but Benefield crossed the plate to score. A sacrifice fly by Stauss scored Schau and Madison was up by three once again. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Trent Bauer joined the homer party with a blast to right field to bring the Chinooks within two runs.
Lakeshore’s defense sent the Mallards down in order in the fifth. Barr led of the Chinooks’ half of the fifth with a single that dropped into right centerfield and Thompson reached on a fielder’s choice but advanced to second on an overthrow. A double from Daryl Myers brought Thompson home and the Chinooks trailed by one. Doersching came to the plate and delivered for Lakeshore with a two-run bomb over the right center wall for his second homer of the game and the Chinooks had taken a one-run lead.
In the seventh, Jake Pagliarini relieved Vuylsteke and faced the minimum. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Thompson singled past the second baseman and advanced to second on a wild pitch with Myers at the plate. Myers then hit an RBI-single up the middle to give Lakeshore a two-run lead. The Chinooks were able to hang onto that lead and took the game with a final score of 7-5.
Vuylsteke got the win for Lakeshore and Luke Sommerfeld recorded the save. Marreel was credited with the loss for the Mallards. Doersching went 2-3 with a walk and two home runs and 3 RBIs. Nathan Aide went 3-4 and Thompson went 2-4 with an RBI.
This win brings Lakeshore to 13-11 in the second half of the season and they currently trail the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters by two games. Monday is a day off and the Chinooks travel to Fond du Lac to face the Dock Spiders at 6: 35 pm.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.
