Wisconsin Rapids, WI – The Rafters struck early and the Chinooks were never able to recover from the early deficit, falling 13-0.
Chinooks starting pitcher Austin Jones was pulled after completing only one inning, giving up three runs to put Lakeshore in an early hole. It marked the third time in four starts this season in which Jones failed to pitch past the fourth inning.
Wisconsin Rapids started off with three consecutive singles in the first inning, with Ty Duvall driving in the first run. Brody Wofford scored on Jake Dunham’s double play groundout and Ian Fair singled to drive home Duvall to quickly put three runs on the board.
Lakeshore was never able to find an answer offensively and struggled to solve Rafters pitching throughout the night. Starting pitcher Charlie Ruegger kept the Chinooks in check for six innings, allowing no runs and striking out four. The Chinooks scattered five hits against Ruegger and never really threatened to cut into the Rafters lead. Wisconsin Rapids bullpen of Justin Wilson, Hunter Robichaux, and Chandler Brierley helped contribute to the shutout for the Rafters, throwing three innings and only allowing one hit.
Following the early exit for Jones, the Chinooks turned the ball to Nick Campe. After retiring the first six batters he faced, Campe ran into some trouble in the fourth inning. Ethan Stringer singled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a double by Fair. Stringer later scored on a RBI groundout by Matt Schmidt to extend the lead to 4-0. Kyle Huckaby relieved Campe with two outs in the inning, but was unable to get out of the inning cleanly. Wofford drove one home, and Duvall cleared the bases with a two RBI double.
The Rafters added one more in the seventh on an error by shortstop Jack Dunn. But the Rafters continued to add on to their lead, scoring six more in the eighth inning. Brandon Komar was tagged for all six of those runs (five earned) on six hits and one walk.
Ty Duvall, in his second game with Wisconsin Rapids, was the focal point of the offensive attack for the Rafters in the win. He picked up four hits, drove home five runs, and scored twice himself.
Overall, the Rafters were able to put together 15 hits against Chinook pitching, and a couple errors contributed to the scoring outburst for Wisconsin Rapids as well.
The Chinooks put together only six hits throughout the night, with half of those coming via Dunn. Lakeshore stranded eight runners throughout the night, going 0-10 with runners in scoring position.
Lakeshore will remain on the road on Thursday, heading east to face off against the Green Bay Bullfrogs. Brendan McGuigan will look to continue his early season success for the Chinooks as he makes the start. First pitch at Joannes Stadium in Green Bay will be at 7:05 PM.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.
