GREEN BAY, Wis (WYATT BAUMEYER). \u2014 With one out in the sixth inning and the bases loaded, leading by one, Lakeshore Chinooks\u2019 pitcher Nate Gray battled through adversity against the Green Bay Rockers Thursday night.<\/p>\n
After recording four strikeouts in the previous inning \u2014 Chinooks\u2019 catcher Jack Kleveno failed to block a curveball that spiked, allowing Rockers\u2019 first baseman Cooper Smith to reach \u2014 Gray returned to the field for the sixth in a torrential downpour.<\/p>\n
Instead of entering into a second rain delay, Lakeshore played Thursday\u2019s game amidst the soggy conditions.<\/p>\n
To plead his case for a delay, the Chinooks\u2019 right-hander repeatedly asked the home plate umpire for a new, dry baseball, throwing the instantly wet balls away.<\/p>\n
Gray said he couldn\u2019t grip the baseball and thought the game should have entered a delay.<\/p>\n
Yet, the Chinooks found themselves playing on in the rain.<\/p>\n
Gray fought his command and managed to induce an infield-fly-rule popup to shortstop David Hogg; yet, battling the rain, Hogg lost sight of the ball and dropped it, allowing a run to score. From there, the floodgates literally opened.<\/p>\n
Green Bay took advantage of the rainy conditions \u2014 and the Chinooks\u2019 sloppy defense, albeit the rain played a huge factor in those errors \u2014 and put together a three-run sixth inning, taking the lead for good.<\/p>\n
Chinooks\u2019 manager Mikel Moreno and his coaching staff were disappointed with the decision to play on in the rain, especially since the game entered a delay after the sixth inning.<\/p>\n
Moreno said it wasn\u2019t safe for either team in the sixth inning, as the hitters couldn\u2019t see the ball, and the pitchers couldn\u2019t control where the ball was going; however, the game continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll it would have taken was a 10-15 minute delay,\u201d Moreno said.<\/p>\n
Before the rain-soaked sixth, the Chinooks had momentum after overcoming a 3-0 deficit, fueled by the heroics of Hogg.<\/p>\n
The newly committed shortstop to the University of Kansas delivered two clutch hits, including a go-ahead two-run double, that ignited a dormant Chinooks\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n
However, lost in Hogg\u2019s big night at the plate and the rain was the table-setting effort by second baseman Beckett Zavorek, who reached base before and scored on each of Hogg\u2019s hits. Zavorek displayed his baserunning skills Thursday night, as the Arizona State product scored from first base on both hits.<\/p>\n
Another night lost in the weather came from right-fielder Brody Rasmussen, who recorded the Chinooks\u2019 first hit of the game and reached base three times.<\/p>\n
As a matter of fact, Lakeshore\u2019s leadoff trio of Zavorek, Hogg and Rasmussen combined for seven of the Chinooks\u2019 eight hits.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, despite the rain, the Chinooks\u2019 pitching staff allowed a run in every inning.<\/p>\n
Left-hander Dylan Escobar started and improved upon his previous outing against the Rockers \u2014 Escobar allowed four runs in just two innings on June 17 in Green Bay \u2014 allowing a run in each of the four innings he pitched.<\/p>\n
With the second half beginning on July 1, Thursday\u2019s appearance was Escobar’s last with the Chinooks, as the left-hander is on just a first-half contract.<\/p>\n
Lakeshore returns to action Friday evening in Madison, beginning a home-and-away series vs. the Mallards. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CDT with left-hander Chance Covert starting for the Chinooks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GREEN BAY, Wis (WYATT BAUMEYER). \u2014 With one out in the sixth inning and the bases loaded, leading by one, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":18158,"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-18157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-team-news"],"yoast_head":"\n