After a tough Friday night, the Chinooks got back on track against the Mallards on Saturday night in front of the largest crowd of the season at Kapco Park. Chinooks starter Eric Hanhold (Florida) set the tone going five innings giving up no runs on two hits and striking out four. “I felt good out there, I got strikes over and let my defense do some work. It’s always good to get some early runs, but we still got to pitch behind that.” Lakeshore bats gave Hanhold support putting up an early run in the 2nd inning and tacking on two more in the 6th inning to secure a 3-0 victory.
The Chinooks started the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd inning. With runners on the corners, Jared Fon (UW-Whitewater) put down a safety squeeze bunt to bring in John Norwood (Vanderbilt) and take a 1-0 lead.
Sawyer Polen (Kent State) led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a bunt that trickled down the left field line and stayed fair. Polen then stole second base and a wild throw advanced him to third base. With the infield in, Mike Hollenbeck (Illinois State) ripped an RBI single up the middle pushing the score to 2-0. After Ryan Krill (MSU) reached on error, John Norwood knocked in the 3rd and final run of the night with an RBI double leading to the win and the first time the Mallards were shut out this season.
Hanhold got help from relievers Dan Sayles (Sacramento City) who pitched three scoreless innings and Mitchell Sewald (LSU) who closed the game out in the 9th inning.
The Chinooks (8-3) wrap up the three game series Sunday, July 14th in Madison. They return to Kapco Park on Monday, July 15th to take on the Wisconsin Woodchucks in a two game set. First pitch will be scheduled for 6:35 PM. Fans in attendance can enjoy the ZOOperstars who perform wild and crazy entertainment shows, and participate in VIP Autograph Monday after the game!
