Lakeshore shortstop Blake Butler (College of Charleston) gave the Chinooks a walk-off home run to capture the first-half Southern Division in style.
It was his second homer of the day, and the Chinooks defeated the Kingfish 5-4 in the twelfth inning.
With the victory and a La Crosse Loggers loss, the Chinooks claimed the 2014 Northwoods League South Division First-Half title.
The right-handed hitting Butler went 3-6 in the game and drove in three runs. He had two homers, a single and also scored three runs.
Butler led off the first with a single. Brett Siddall (Canisius) had a single off Kingfish starter Trevor Haas that scored Butler.
Designated-hitter Kyle Wood (Purdue) hit a double with two outs. He scored on a double by Luke Meeteer (UW-Milwaukee).
The Kingfish took a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Center fielder Taylor Douglas reached first on a fielder’s choice. Lakeshore starter Cam Vieaux (Michigan State) issued a walk to Chris Godinez. Douglas scored on an RBI single by Pat Porter. Right fielder Buddy Reed also a RBI single in the inning. Alex Dunlap sacrificed Porter home as well.
Zack Kolakowski had a sacrifice fly off Chase Radan (UCLA) that scored Kyle Brooks in the sixth. Kenosha had a 4-2 lead on Lakeshore.
In the seventh, Coley Thompkins came on in relief for Kenosha starter Trevor Haas. Meeteer reached on an infield single. He scored on a two-run homer by Blake Butler that tied the game at four.
Chinooks starter Cam Vieaux (Michigan State) went five innings. He gave up three runs (two earned) off six hits in a no-decision. Jake Tuttle (UW-Milwaukee) pitched a scoreless seventh and had a strikeout.
Right-hander Andrew Elliott (Wright State) continued to be very impressive for Lakeshore. In four innings, he gave up no hits and struck out four. Lefty Connor Jones (Georgia) picked up the win and moved to 3-0 on the season.
After giving up the homer in the twelfth, Kingfish pitcher Justin Peters (0-1) took the loss.
The Chinooks will face the Kenosha Kingfish again tonight at 7:05 p.m. in Kenosha. The team has the day off on July 1. They will travel to Michigan for four games against the Battle Creek Bombers and Kalamazoo Growlers, July 2-5, before returning home July 6 to play the Green Bay Bullfrogs.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel<http://northwoodsleague.com/video/>. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com.