Mequon, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks had a successful home stand over the weekend and into the new week, winning three out of four games. The team traveled to Eau Claire looking to take their home success on the road to continue a three-game winning streak. Indeed they did just that, coming out on top of the Express by a score of 6-1.
The Chinooks had no problems with Express starter Bryce Hensley (Catawaba Valley CC), chasing him from the game after just three innings. That came via a five-run third inning for the club. The club loaded the bases with no outs in the frame after Anthony Massicci (Canisius) was hit by a pitch, Drake Parker (Vanderbilt) walked and Jake Romano (Miami-Ohio) singled. Kyle Fiala (Notre Dame) then drove in Massicci and Parker with a single, and Romano scored when Doug Kraeger (Richmond) singled. Fiala later came around to score when Zarley Zalewski (Kent State) reached on an error, and Kraeger was plated when Jake Kolasinski (UW-Parkside) hit a sacrifice fly.
The team carried their 5-0 lead until the bottom of the fourth, when the Express scored on a solo home run from Tyler Jones (Air Force). That was all that Eau Claire could get off of Jesse Scholtens (Wright State), though, who continued a great streak of performances from Chinooks starters. He would up throwing 7.0 innings, allowing just the single run on six hits and a walk while striking out five. In the last four games, Chinooks starters have allowed just five total runs while throwing seven or more innings in each game.
Lucas Raley (Lake Erie College) got the lead back to five in the top of the fifth, smacking a solo homer to make the score 6-1. Raley has shown plenty of raw power this summer, and while it has not always shown due to the pitcher-friendly nature of Chinooks home field Kapco Park, it was only a matter of time before he hit a homer. There should certainly be a few more of those over the course of the season.
That was all the Chinooks would get, but they did almost extend the lead in the top of the ninth. That was when Kraeger came inches from hitting his third home run of the year, but left fielder Jones made a leaping catch over the fence to rob Kraeger of the potential two-run bomb. Ultimately, though, that play would hardly come back to matter for the Chinooks.
Zac Lowther (Xavier) had previously appeared only out of the rotation, but with the Chinooks still trying to determine who exactly they want starting games, he saw a couple of innings out of the bullpen in this game. He shut down the Express offense over the final two frames, striking out two in the process and holding the game at 6-1.
The Chinooks will have their first off day of the season on Wednesday and will then travel to Madsion to take on the Mallards for a two-game series starting on Thursday.
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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com.
