KENOSHA, Wis (WYATT BAUMEYER). \u2014 After a promising start to the series against the Kenosha Kingfish, the Lakeshore Chinooks were unable to complete the Fish Bowl Series sweep Friday night at Simmons Field, losing 4-2.<\/p>\n
In what was another pitchers’ duel \u2014 the Chinooks\u2019 third-straight game with a combined run total under seven \u2014 Lakeshore faced a thin margin for error; however, unlike the previous two games, the Chinook pitching staff struggled with command from the get-go.<\/p>\n
After recording a groundout on the first pitch of the inning, Lakeshore starter Aaron Robinson lost his command rather quickly. The left-hander proceeded to walk the next three Kingfish batters on 12 pitches, creating a bases-loaded jam with only one out.<\/p>\n
Despite Robinson working out of the jam, the theme of wildness continued throughout the evening.<\/p>\n
Without recording an out in the second, Robinson was pulled out of the game after consecutive hit-by-pitches. His replacement, right-hander Jackson Bahn, struggled as well with command, walking three over 3 and \u2154 innings.<\/p>\n
In total, the Chinooks\u2019 pitching staff walked eight Kingfish, compared to only one Kingfish walk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey threw strikes, and if you throw strikes, you\u2019ll keep yourself in the game,\u201d Chinooks\u2019 manager Mikel Moreno said on the success of the Kenosha pitching, a pitching staff that only allowed six Lakeshore runs in 19 innings.<\/p>\n
Right-hander Tanner Johnson started for the Kingfish and kept the Chinooks at bay over seven innings. Johnson struck out and allowed just six hits, yet Lakeshore still out-hit Kenosha 7-5.<\/p>\n
The only real momentum Lakeshore had was on a sixth-inning lead-off Drew Reynolds solo home run \u2013 his second of the series \u2013 and the confrontation that transpired while Reynolds crossed home plate after circling the bases.<\/p>\n
Reynolds said something to Kingfish catcher Ryan Bakes, and the two exchanged some colorful words. However, nothing else transpired afterward.<\/p>\n
Moreno said the heat of the moment got the best of the two players.<\/p>\n
The most surprising part about the home run wasn’t the words exchanged but the fact that there was a home run in the first place.<\/p>\n
Throughout the two-game series in Kenosha, the wind was constantly blowing in, knocking down every ball hit into the air.<\/p>\n
The wind was most apparent during pregame batting practice, where many normal home runs were instead deep flyouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were an offensive player, I wouldn’t want to play here because the ball just dies here,\u201d Moreno said.<\/p>\n
Another possible answer for why the Chinooks have struggled offensively is the continued pile-up of injuries.<\/p>\n
After re-injuring his lower half running to first base on Wednesday, outfielder Jacob Kowes did not start for the Chinooks on Friday.<\/p>\n
However, trailing by two in the ninth, Kowes pinch-hit.<\/p>\n
Moreno said Kowes was available to hit exclusively in a \u201cone swing situation,\u201d meaning the game was within a batter of being tied, which is precisely what the Chinooks found themselves in after catcher Dominic Kilber walked.<\/p>\n
Kowes grounded out to end the game, but his plate appearance showed that the severity of his injury wasn\u2019t as bad as the team initially thought.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, as Kowes returned from injury, Lakeshore lost two more players Friday night.<\/p>\n
Starting catcher Jack Kleveno exited after taking a foul ball off his mask, and left fielder Nate Gray departed after pulling a muscle in his leg while running to first.<\/p>\n
Moreno stressed the importance of stretching and will now implement a pregame arm care and stretching routine to ensure his roster remains healthy for the over 50 games remaining.<\/p>\n
The Chinooks return home Saturday at 6:35 p.m. as they take on the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders for the third time. Right-hander Koehn Thomas is expected to start.<\/p>\n
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KENOSHA, Wis (WYATT BAUMEYER). \u2014 After a promising start to the series against the Kenosha Kingfish, the Lakeshore Chinooks were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":18049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-team-news"],"yoast_head":"\n