Schicker Twirls Bullpen Gem in Final Outing
MEQUON, Wis – The Wausau Woodchucks (31-31) erased two deficits in an 8-5 win over the Lakeshore Chinooks (31-31) at Kapco Park Thursday night.
Mike Schicker (West Georgia) saved his best outing for his last of the summer, retiring the final seven Chinooks in order over three scoreless innings to earn his second win.
When Schicker entered the game in the seventh, the Woodchucks were trailing 5-4. But in the top of the eighth, they rallied to take the lead.
A trio of walks loaded the bases, and JC Ng (Pomona-Pitzer) smacked a line-drive single to center field. Garret Hill (North Dakota State) scored the tying run. In the next at-bat, a wild pitch plated Zach Kluvers (North Dakota State) and a Chase Hug (Evansville) sacrifice fly brought Maurice Gomez (Keiser) home. Tyler Cox (Eckerd) provided the insurance with a two-out single, driving in Ng to put the Woodchucks ahead by what became the final score – 8-5.
The Woodchucks led early after Ng and Elie Kligman (Wake Forest) scored two first-inning runs. The Chinooks answered with four runs over the first two innings, two of which were unearned.
But Jace Baumann (UW-Stout) settled into a rhythm and fired a scoreless third and fourth. The fourth-year Woodchuck struck out four and walked two in a no-decision.
Trailing 4-2, the Woodchucks delivered two-out RBI singles in both the fourth and the fifth. Kligman brought home Gomez to cut the deficit in half, and Hill plated Cox to tie the score an inning later.
Adrian Lopez (Menlo) tossed a 1-2-3 fifth but surrendered a run in the bottom of the sixth. The righty allowed just one hit over two innings.
Tonight’s win brings the Woodchucks within two games of the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (33-29). The Chinooks and Woodchucks are trying to catch up to the Spiders, who currently hold the second playoff spot in the Great Lakes West by virtue of the overall standings. Nine games remain in the 2022 regular season.
Up Next
At 6:35 p.m. tomorrow evening, the Woodchucks take on the Chinooks in the series finale. You can watch the game on the Northwoods League Baseball Network or listen to the Woodchucks Radio Network via Meridix: https://www.meridix.com/channel/?liveid=wausauwoodchucksradio
The Woodchucks return to Wausau for a 4 game homestand starting Saturday, August 6 where they’ll take on the Fond Du Lac Dock Spiders for two games and then the Chinooks for two games. Saturday is Crystal Finishing Systems and JDRF night. There will be post-game fireworks after Saturday’s game presented by Crystal Finishing Systems. Buy tickets here: https://northwoodsleague.com/wausau-woodchucks/)
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