In their second game of this home-and-home series, the Lakeshore Chinooks (11-16) defeated and swept the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (9-19) 9-5 Sunday afternoon at Herr-Baker Field.
After a 30-minute rain delay to start this game, the Chinooks wasted no time getting on the board. In the top of the third inning, Grant Ross drew a one-out walk and stole second to get into scoring position. Mason Neville then drew a walk, putting runners on first and second.
Hunter Grimes singled to left field to load the bases with only one out recorded. Avery Owusu-Aseidu gave Lakeshore the lead with a single that scored one run and left the bases loaded once more.
Joey Spence capitalized on this opportunity with a towering double to right field, which scored two runs. Spence then advanced to third on a throwing error by the second baseman, pushing another run across and putting the Chinooks up 4-0.
Will Johannes kept the line moving by doubling to left field, giving Lakeshore a 5-0 lead. That would be enough to prompt a pitching change for Fond du Lac. The Chinooks could not score anymore, but the damage was done going into the bottom of the inning.
The Dock Spiders plated one run in the bottom of the third inning. Paul Smith drew a leadoff walk, but a fielder’s choice made him out at second and left a runner on first. Graiden West was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Connor Cooney then singled to right, bringing a run home and making the score 5-1.
In the top of the fifth, Lakeshore added to its lead. Owusu-Aseidu started the inning off by singling to left field and stealing second base. After Spence flew out, Owusu-Aseidu stole again, advancing to third base. His efforts would pay off as Johannes singled down the left field line and Owusu-Aseidu ran home to put Lakeshore up 6-1.
Brady Counsell then singled down the left field line but was thrown out at second base trying to advance. Johannes scored, making the score 7-1 in favor of the Chinooks heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Chinooks struck again in the top of the sixth inning. Ross drew his second one-out walk of the day to lead off the frame. Neville then executed a hit-and-run play by singling to right field while Ross was stealing, putting runners on first and third.
Grimes hit a sacrifice fly to score Ross from third, putting the Chinooks ahead by seven runs going into the sixth inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Fond du Lac managed to score one run. Lakeshore reliever DJ Hess gave up a double and single to start off the inning, putting runners on first and third. With one out, Cooney came up and hit a deep sacrifice fly to left field, pushing a run across as the Dock Spiders now trailed 8-2.
Lakeshore added an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Neville drew a leadoff walk and eventually stole second to get into scoring position. A groundout to the left side would move Neville over to third base. Spence’s RBI single and third hit of the day put the Chinooks ahead 9-2 going into the bottom of the inning.
The Dock Spiders would score three runs in the bottom of the ninth but it wouldn’t be enough to erase their deficit, leading the Chinooks to their third straight win and fifth away from home.
Lakeshore outhit Fond du Lac 12-8 and stole a total of six bases on the day. Spence and Johannes led the way for the Chinooks with both going 3-for-5 and earning a combined five RBIs. Every Chinook batter recorded a hit except for two.
Lakeshore starter Mitch Alba (W, 1-0) pitched six innings, giving up two hits and one earned run while striking out three batters.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are back in action tomorrow against the Rockford Rivets (16-11) at Rivets Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CST.
