MEQUON, Wis (WYATT BAUMEYER). \u2014 Entering the ninth inning Wednesday evening, the Lakeshore Chinooks appeared to be on track for an impressive come-from-behind victory against the Wausau Woodchucks.<\/p>\n
Trailing 1-0 after the first inning, the Chinooks railed off four unanswered runs, including a two-run home run by designated hitter Drew Reynolds (5-tied for second in the NWL) in the second. Leading 5-3 with three out to go, the Chinooks sent right-hander Logan Schulfer back out to slam the door.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes and six walks later, the Chinooks found themselves down 6-5 in another loss the team handed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s part of the game, you gotta overcome it,\u201d Chinooks\u2019 starting pitcher Brian Crooms said after Wednesday’s frustrating loss.<\/p>\n
Schulfer began the ninth by walking Wausau designated hitter Max Soliz. With two outs, the right-hander walked another two batters, including walking in a run, leading manager Mikel Moreno to put in Michael Caruso in a one-run game.<\/p>\n
Caruso followed by throwing seven consecutive balls, walking in the tying, and going-ahead runs.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Crooms, the right-hander spun five innings of one-run, two-hit ball \u2013 Crooms didn\u2019t allow a hit until the fifth inning \u2013 and was in line for the win.<\/p>\n
Crooms said he had no clue he hadn\u2019t allowed a hit until the Woodchucks\u2019 bullpen went berserk in the fifth, signaling the first hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt locked in from the get-go,\u201d Crooms said. \u201cI was able to channel it toward the mound today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Likewise, Chinooks\u2019 pitching coach Aidan Wojciehowski said Crooms was in a good headspace before his start, as far as Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was fired up, and he saw what he could do,\u201d Wojciehowski said.<\/p>\n
Wojciehowski said the length Crooms provided on Wednesday helped the bullpen, a bullpen tasked with covering 18 innings across a split doubleheader on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys are gonna have to step up,\u201d Wojciehowski said of his bullpen covering such a bulk of innings in a short amount of time.<\/p>\n
Wojciechowski said the pitching staff must bounce back quickly after Wednesday’s loss but noted that the players must acknowledge their feelings to move forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going to allow that [your emotions] to define your next outing,\u201d Wojciehowski said.<\/p>\n
Another key arm that threw Wednesday was right-hander Zander Bretza. The Chinooks\u2019 most high-leverage reliever entered in the sixth following Crooms.<\/p>\n
Wojciehowski said the plan was to always go to Bretza after Crooms, as the righty had been one of the most reliable arms as of late.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been doing a good job for us,\u201d Wojciehowski said of Bretza\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
Brezta pitched a scoreless sixth but ran into trouble in the seventh.<\/p>\n
After allowing the first two Woodchucks to reach, Bretza fielded a bunt and made an errant throw to first base that allowed a run to score. The inning only ended after Wausau second baseman Cade Baldridge hit a line drive that deflected off a baserunner.<\/p>\n
Lakeshore is quickly back in action Thursday morning at 11:35 in game 1 of the doubleheader, with game 2 following at the regular 6:35 p.m. timeslot.<\/p>\n
Right-hander Brandin Crawford is expected to make his first start as a Chinook in game 1, and right-hander Koehn Thomas gets game 2.<\/p>\n
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