Mequon, WI – After coming off a successful series against the Kenosha Kingfish, your Lakeshore Chinooks looked to continue their winning ways in game one Tuesday night against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. After a strong night on the mound and hot bats at the plate, the Chinooks secured a 4-0 win over the Rafters and extended their winning streak to five games.
On the mound for the Chinooks was Tyler Jandron (UW-Parkside) who made his sixth start on the year and came into the game with an impressive 1.73 ERA and 27 strikeouts in his 36.1 innings of work. Jandron’s last outing against the Madison Mallards was outstanding and he carried over his strong pitching against the Rafters as he held them scoreless on the night and only gave up one hit while he struck out 9 batters in his seven innings pitched.
The Chinooks faced Rafter’s righty pitcher Nick Belzer (Des Moines Area CC) who took the mound for his third start and came into the game with a 3.73 ERA in his 21.2 innings pitched.
The Chinooks did not hold back as they got on the board early in the bottom of the first. Matt Reardon (Florida Gulf Coast) roped a double to lead off the inning followed by a two out RBI single by Kevin Riley (Chaffey CC) that gave the Chinooks a 1-0 lead.
The heart of the Chinooks order came up in the bottom of the fourth and added on another run after James Bleming (Lehigh) stepped up with runners on second and third and hit a deep sac fly that brought a runner home and increased the Chinooks lead to 2-0.
The Chinooks would get two more runs off of the Rafters starter after Zac Taylor (Houston) led off with double. Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) brought Taylor home after he ripped an RBI double followed by Riley who reached first on a dropped third strike which allowed Duncan to score and give the Chinooks a solid 4-0 lead.
Belzer would go 4.2 innings for the Rafters and gave up 4 runs to the Chinooks off of 7 hits. The Chinooks would face Reed Stumpf (Dubuque) who he held the Chinooks scoreless for the rest of the evening.
Joey Abraham (Vanderbilt) took the mound for the Chinooks to pitch the top of the eighth where he struck out two batters while holding the Rafters scoreless. Relief pitcher Nick Horvath (Florida) was called in from the bullpen in the top of the ninth where he struck out 2 out of the 3 batters he faced and closed the door on the Rafters after securing a 4-0 Chinooks win.
After a solid all around night for the Chinooks, Jandron earned the win and Horvath earned the save. Reardon is now on an impressive 8 game hitting streak and when asked why he is so successful at the plate he said “I have just gotten more used to hitting at the plate. Hitting is a process and I just had to get more used to it.”
Tonight at the plate Taylor went 2-3 while Miller and Riley both went 2-4. After the game Reardon talked about how the team wants to finish out the season, “Moving forward, we are looking to end the season strong. We want to make the playoffs and win every game from here on out.”
The Chinooks will return home Wednesday night at 6:35 to take on the Rafters in game two of the series.
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, visithttp://northwoodsleague.com/lakeshore-chinooks or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.
