Woodchucks Outlast Booyah, Stay in First

ASHWAUBENON, WI – Nothing about Tuesday’s game went quite according to plan. But for the sixth time in as many meetings, the Woodchucks (20-10) defeated the Booyah (10-19) by a score of 7-4.

A passing rainstorm pushed the start time back by 40 minutes. During his bullpen session, probable starter Sean Higgins suffered an injury, forcing manager Corey Thompson’s hand right from the outset.

The skipper turned to Jace Baumann, who would pitch four innings of one-run ball in a last-second start. He worked around five hits and struck out two.

In the fifth inning, the offense joined the party by taking advantage of Green Bay pitching. Tommy Delgado singled, and a string of four consecutive walks put the visitors in front, 2-1.

The Woodchucks added a pair in the sixth after Tyler Kehoe’s bases-loaded walk and Jose Izarra’s RBI groundout.

In the bottom of the sixth, Green Bay tied the game after an error and a two-run double. But as they have in each game of the season series thus far, the Woodchucks responded swiftly.

Back-to-back singles by Delgado and Colton Vincent set the table for Tyler Kehoe to drive in two. Jose Izarra plated another with a base hit, and the Chucks had finished rebuilding their three-run lead.

Dante Chirico earned his second save in as many nights, getting nine outs to secure the 7-4 victory. He struck out two and allowed just two hits over three scoreless frames.

With the win, the Woodchucks hold onto their one-game lead over the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. There are six games to play before a first-half champion is crowned.

The Woodchucks welcome the Dock Spiders for a two-game set beginning tomorrow night at 6:35pm at Athletic Park.

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The Wisconsin Woodchucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 27-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.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Woodchucks as your favorite team.