Wisconsin Rapids, WI – Following a 2-1 loss in game one on Tuesday, the Chinooks returned to Wisconsin Rapids to face off against the Rafters in game two of the series on Wednesday.

Game two differed immensely from the pitching duel in game one, as both offenses squared-up on the opposing pitching staff that resulted in a high scoring affair. However, the Chinooks defense, which was ranked fourth in the Northwoods League coming into Wednesday’s game, committed two costly errors late in the game that provided the Rafters with enough run support to top the Chinooks 9-7 and complete the two-game sweep.

Joe Stoll (Ohio State) took the mound for Lakeshore in his first start and fourth appearance of the season. Usually working out of the bullpen for Chinooks’ manager Eddy Morgan, Stoll came into the game with an 0-1 record and 4.26 ERA in his 6.1 innings of work.

Gareth Stroh (Coffeyville CC) started on the bump for the fourth time this season for the Rafters. Stroh had pitched well for Wisconsin Rapids coming into Wednesday, boasting a 1-1 record and 3.50 ERA, and tallying 19 strikeouts and issuing only two walks in his 18 innings of work.

Lakeshore took an emphatic lead in the top of the second, attacking on Stroh’s mistakes early and often. Back-to-back singles by Hayden Senger (Miami-Ohio) and Darius Sewell (Georgia State) started the inning for the Chinooks. After a walk was issued to Matt Johnson (South Dakota State) to load the bases, Owen Miller (Illinois State) grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Senger from third and put Lakeshore on the board. Royce Ando (Michigan State) then stepped up and hit a ground ball to third, but third baseman Jon Meola (Virginia) couldn’t field it cleanly, allowing Sewell to score on the error to increase the lead to 2-0. Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) continued the barrage by roping an RBI single to score Miller from third, followed by a walk issued to Zac Taylor (Houston) to load the bases once again. With two outs in the inning, Tim DalPorto (Kent State) stepped up in the clutch yet again for Lakeshore, ripping an RBI double to score Ando and Duncan and bring the score to 5-0 going into the bottom of the inning.

The Rafters battled back in the bottom of the second. Singles by Rob Calabrese (Illinois-Chicago), Jacson McGowan (Purdue) and Jon Meola loaded up the bases with two outs in the inning. Stoll then proceeded to issue back-to-walks to Brandon Polizzi (Minnesota) and Jake Lumley (Canisius) to put the Rafters on the board and bring the score to 5-2.

Both Joe Stoll and Gareth Stroh were removed from the game after the second inning, giving up a combined seven runs on seven hits and walking six runners.

The Chinooks tacked on another run in the third thanks to a solo home run by Matt Johnson and one more in the fourth after Joe Duncan and Zac Taylor lead off the inning with back-to-back singles, setting the stage for Tim DalPorto to deliver once again by grounding a fielder’s choice to short to score Duncan on the play and give the Chinooks a commanding 7-2 lead.

However, the Rafters’ offense came to life starting in the bottom of the fourth against Chinooks’ reliever Austin Havekost (Kent State). Jacson McGowan lead off the inning with a single, followed by a walk issued to Jon Meola to put two runners on for the Rafters. A 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Demetrius Sims (Bethune-Cookman) allowed McGowan to advance to third. Then, an infield single by pinch hitter Dustin Woodcock (SIU-Edwardsville) scored McGowan on the play to bring the score to 7-3.

Wisconsin Rapids went on the tack on two more runs in the fifth on a two-run RBI double by Jacson McGowan to put the Rafters within two. They threatened once again in the sixth, after a single by Jake Lumley and a double by Logan Mattix (Georgia College) put runners on the corners with two outs in the inning. Then, a 1-2 delivery from Chinooks’ reliever Chris Choles (North Dakota State) got past catcher Hayden Senger and rolled to the back stop, allowing Lumley to score on the wild pitch to bring the score to 7-6.

The Rafters dealt the decisive blow in the bottom of the eighth inning. A one-out solo home run by Dustin Woodcock tied the game at 7-7 and started the offensive surge for Wisconsin Rapids. Following the home run, back-to-back singles by Joey Morgan (Washington) and Logan Mattix put two runners on for the Rafters with two outs in the inning. Then, a ground ball off the bat of Rob Calabrese couldn’t be fielded cleanly by short stop Owen Miller, allowing Mattix to advance to third and Morgan to come around to score on the error to give the Rafters a 8-7 lead. On the subsequent at-bat, a ground ball by Doak Dozier (Virginia) could not be handled by second baseman Royce Ando, allowing Mattix to score easily from third to give the Rafters a pivotal 9-7 advantage.

Rafters’ closer Garrett Schilling (Xavier) came into the game in the top of the ninth and shut the door for Wisconsin Rapids, earning his sixth save of the season and securing the comeback 9-7 victory and series sweep for the Rafters.

Chris Choles would be issued his first loss of the year after giving up four runs, three of which were earned, on six hits in his three innings of work out of the bullpen. Rafters’ reliever Cameron Busby (Georgia College) picked up his second win of the season after coming into the game in the top of seventh, holding the Chinooks scoreless and allowing only two hits in his two innings of work.

With the loss the Chinooks drop their record to 9-15 on the year, while the Rafters improve their record to 13-8 for the season.

The Chinooks return back to Kapco Park to start a six game homestand on Thursday, facing off against the Kenosha Kingfish in the first game of a two-game series at 6:35pm.

The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd 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 150 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 (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit http://northwoodsleague.com/lakeshore-chinooks.