PITCHERS SHINE AS WOODCHUCKS STRIKE OUT 13 IN WIN OVER ROYAL OAK
ROYAL OAK, MI- The Wausau Woodchucks registered their second shutout victory of the 2025 season, and their first since Opening Day, when they blanked the Royal Oak Leprechauns 7-0 at Memorial Park on Tuesday night.
The Woodchucks now have more shutout wins this season than they did during their record-setting run in 2024. and tonight’s shutout helped avenge a tight, one-run loss to Royal Oak back on Monday night.
It all began with Carter White (Lincoln Memorial/Eastern Michigan), who had his best start of the season for Wausau. The left-hander tossed six scoreless innings, striking out seven hitters and allowing just two hits. White has now struck out 19 hitters this season in four appearances this season and holds a 2.37 ERA.
The bullpen for Wausau followed suit. Garrett Landry (Stephen F. Austin) struck out four in two scoreless innings of work. He now has a 0.96 ERA in his first Northwoods League season. Reece Clapp (Bradley) completed the shutout in the ninth, striking out the final two hitters he faced. Clapp has now dealt nine scoreless innings to begin the season with the Woodchucks and is one of the few pitchers in the Northwoods League yet to allow a run. The pitching effort helped a Woodchucks offense that scored many of their runs late to pick up the road win.
The Woodchucks scored the opening run in the third when Keagen Jirschele (South Dakota State) stole home in unconventional fashion. After a pitch was thrown, Jirschele was far enough off the third base bag to force Royal Oak’s catcher to throw back to third base. After that throw, Jirschele raced home and beat the throw back to the plate to put the Woodchucks in front.
That play gave the Woodchucks their 100th stolen base of the season, with Wausau becoming the first team in the Northwoods League to reach that mark in 2025. The Woodchucks now lead the league by 15 or more steals over every other team. Wausau is looking to become only the fifth team in league history to steal 200 bases during a season.
The Woodchucks would double their lead in the sixth. Dylan Schlotterback (Paris/JC) drove in his 16th run of the season with a two-out single to make the score 2-0. Then, Wausau went up three runs with another two-out RBI hit in the seventh from Zach Knowlton (Central Michigan). It was Knowlton’s second straight day with an RBI hit.
With the Woodchucks needing insurance runs late, they opened the floodgates in the ninth, scoring four runs. Aiden Harris (Virginia) started the big inning with a RBI triple, his second extra base hit of the season, before Knowlton drove him in with his second RBI single of the night. Cade Baldridge (Cowley CC/Kansas) followed by launching a two-run home run into right-center field, his second straight day with a long ball against the Leprechauns. The runs give the Woodchucks a commanding lead that they would hold until the end.
The win for Wausau secured a season series split with Royal Oak, with the Woodchucks going 2-2 in their first four meetings in franchise history against the Leprechauns. Wausau also puts pressure on Madison, who, at the time of this writing, currently leads the Rockford Rivets 8-7 in the top of the seventh. If Madison ends up losing that game, the Woodchucks move into first place in the Great Lakes West division.
The Woodchucks are now 3-2 in their longest road trip of the season and will continue it by travelling to face the Lakeshore Chinooks for a four-game series over the next three days. Lakeshore is the only opponent on Wausau’s schedule that the Woodchucks have yet to play this season, and currently sit at the bottom of the Great Lakes West standings. Wausau finished with a 6-2 record against Lakeshore last season. The series will begin tomorrow with a 6:35 p.m. start time in Mequon.
Wausau won’t return home until Sunday, June 21, when they host the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders at 1:05 p.m. During the Woodchucks’ road trip, fans can still catch live action at Athletic Park, as the Wausau Ignite will host multiple Northwoods League softball games this week. That stretch begins tomorrow, June 18, with a 6:35 p.m. matchup against the La Crosse Steam. Fans can get tickets to both Woodchucks and Ignite home games this summer by visiting woodchucks.com.