A stellar complete game outing by starting pitcher Joe Greenfield (South Suburban) and a pair of homers by Forrest Chadwick (Southern Maine) sunk all hopes of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters spoiling the Chinooks 4-2 victory in front of a record setting crowd Sunday evening.  Chadwick put the Chinooks up 2-0 in the first inning when his first long ball of the game sailed over the left field wall to score himself and Charlie Markson (Notre Dame).

The Kapco Park record setting crowd of 2,503 witnessed Greenfield showcasing exactly why the Boston Red Sox drafted him this year; pitching a complete game and giving up only 1 unearned run and 1 earned run on 5 hits.

“My 2-seam was working really well for me so I didn’t have to go to a lot of off-speed.  The ball was just moving and they were getting themselves out.  I threw my fastball so much that when I went I did go to my off-speed pitches, they were pretty thrown off,” commented Greenfield on his 8 strike out performance.  “The crowd definitely helped too, it got the adrenaline going; it was great to be a part of it.”

The second inning looked to be a routine 3 up, 3 down inning, but a throwing error by Cody Yount (Pepperdine) got past first baseman Ryan Krill (Michigan State) that allowed Joshua Cyr to reach second.  A follow-up single by Brandon Hohl scored Cyr’s unearned run. 

With the narrow 2-1 lead, Chadwick lead off the third inning for the Chinooks with his second home run in as many at bats; this time a solo shot again over the left field wall.  Chadwick finished the game going 3-for-4 with the addition of a single in the seventh.

 “I’ve been hitting the ball the other way quite a bit lately.  I got a few outside pitches and just was able to hit them out” said Chadwick.  “The wind definitely helped too, it probably added fifteen feet or so.”

Brian Anderson (Arkansas) followed-up Chadwick’s homer with a bloop single over the head of Rafters shortstop Jordan Dreiling before Krill hit a double to put both runners in scoring position.  Ty Kamps (UW-Oshkosh) would eventually walk, but a balk during his at-bat by Rafters pitcher Bo Henning brought Anderson home to give the Chinooks a 4-1 lead. 

Greenfield faced 3 batters over the minimum over the next 6 innings as he easily handled the Rafters bats to complete the game.  A solo homer by Austin Neary with 2-outs in the ninth was the only blunder to Greenfield’s stellar performance. 

The Chinooks are back at Kapco Park tomorrow for a rematch against the Rafters with a 6:35pm first pitch.