Wausau, WIS – The Wisconsin Woodchucks walked off on the Battle Creek Bombers 4-3, when Merrill native Alex Cordova drew a four-pitch walk in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The bases became loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Bombers (2-9) brought in Joshua Leone to pitch. Merrill native Alex Cordova came up to bat for the Woodchucks (5-6) and drew a four-pitch walk to walk off on the Bombers and win 4-3.
The Bombers took advantage of some sloppy play from the Woodchucks to plate their first runner. Joseph Havrilak laid down a sacrifice bunt with Sam Koenig on first base. Woodchucks’ starting pitcher Seth Davis threw the ball down the right field line when Koenig came all the way from first to give the Bombers an early 1-0 lead.
The Woodchucks would answer in the bottom of the second inning when Nate Mondou hit a fly ball deep enough to score Brendon Hayden.
The Woodchucks then took the lead in the next inning when Alex Krupa hit a two-out single up the middle that brought in Ryan Donovan to give the Woodchucks a 2-1 lead.
The Woodchucks got a very important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Krupa came into score, this time from a sacrifice fly from Hayden giving the Woodchucks a 3-1 lead.
The Bombers cut the deficit in the top of the seventh inning to one when Laz Rivera hit a double in the right-center field gap that brought in a runner.
The Bombers then went on to tie the game at three when Matt Dacey hit a home run that carried over the scoreboard in right field at Athletic Park.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the ninth inning before the Woodchucks scored the victory.
The Woodchucks got another quality start from Seth Davis going six innings giving up one unearned run while striking out six Bombers’ batters.
The Woodchucks and Bombers will finish their two-game series tomorrow night at Athletic Park. First pitch is set for 7:05.
The Wisconsin Woodchucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwood’s League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwood’s 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 115 Northwood’s League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwood’s League YouTube channel. For more information, visit woodchucks.com.
