Woodchucks Hold On to Beat Pit Spitters
WAUSAU, WI – The Woodchucks started quickly. T.J. Reeves singled to get on base, and Kenny Rodriguez walked afterwards to put two men on. Angel Tiburcio hit a groundball to shortstop and was thrown out at first, but the Pit Spitters’ first basemen Andrew Morrow threw the ball away trying to check on Reeves at 3rd, allowing Reeves to score. Rodriguez later came around to score when Lawrence Cicileo got caught in a rundown. The score was 2-0 after the first half-inning.
The Pit Spitters got a run back in the bottom of the 2nd. With the bases loaded and one out, Mario Camilletti hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Riley Bertram to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
Angel Tiburcio started off the top of the 4thwith a single, and a wild pitch got him over to 2ndbase. A couple of groundouts advanced him all the way to the plate as he scored on a Cameron Swanger groundout to shortstop. The Woodchucks extended their lead to 3-1.
The Chucks struck again in the top of the 5th. Nolan Soliveres led off the inning with a walk, and Kyle Simmons followed him off with a single. Alejandro Gonzalez hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners into scoring position, and T.J. Reeves did the rest, singling to bring in both runners. Halfway through the game, the Chucks were up 5-1.
Meanwhile Nate Madej was pitching extremely well, allowing just one run in his first five innings. The Woodchucks gave him some more run support in the 6thwhen Kaeber Rog hit a single with Angel Tiburcio on 2ndbase to drive him in. The Woodchucks were out to a 6-1 lead.
Angel continued his busy day with an RBI infield single in the top of the 7thto make it a 7-1 ballgame.
J.C. Ariza got into a little bit of a jam in the 7thinning, walking the bases loaded. Tom Ambrosino came in to relieve him but ended up walking one more batter to bring in a run, making the score 7-2 going into the 8th.
The Pit Spitters closed the gap some more in the bottom of the 8th. They compiled hits, drew walks, and were hit by a pitch against Woodchuck reliever Tom Ambrosino to score three runs, making it just a two-run ballgame. The Chucks went into the 9thinning leading 7-5.
Lenny Gwizdala came in for the bottom of the 9thand got all three outs before any runs could come across for Traverse City. The Woodchucks take the win with the final score of 7-5.
Top Performers
Nate Madej pitched five and one third innings, allowing just one run and striking out five batters in his final start for the Woodchucks
T.J. Reeves was two for four with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Next Up
The Woodchucks will take on the Pit Spitters in Traverse City again tomorrow Friday, July 12th. The Woodchucks continue their Michigan road trip to Kalamazoo on Saturday, July 13th and playing again in Kalamazoo on Sunday, July 14th. After their four-game road trip, three Woodchucks players will participate in the 2019 All-Star Game in Waterloo, Iowa. The All-Star Break will run July 15th-17th. For tickets, call us at 715.845.5055, stop by our front office, or visit woodchucks.com.
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The Wisconsin Woodchucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 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.woodchucks.comor download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Woodchucks as your favorite team.