WAUSAU’S HISTORIC COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AS CHUCKS LOSE GROUND IN PLAYOFF RACE

WAUSAU, WI— The Wausau Woodchucks were a couple of steps away from what would have been the biggest comeback in the Corey Thomspon era, but fell just short in a 14-12 loss to the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders at Athletic Park Saturday night.

In the seventh, the Woodchucks trailed 14-5, but came all the way back in the final innings and brought the winning run to the plate in the ninth inning. However, Wausau could not score the final runs they needed to steal the victory at the last second.

Dylan LaPointe (Mercer) provided a strong day at the plate, going 3-3 with an RBI and two extra base hits. Ryan Chase (Santa Fe CC/Kansas) reached base in all five plate appearances, hitting a double and taking four walks. On the mound, Arturo Ormaza (Toledo/Transfer Portal) pitched two innings and only allowed one run, and Jack Garvey (New Orleans) struck out two batters in a scoreless frame.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

The scoring came early and often in the game. Wausau scored three runs in the first to pull ahead, two on a Kyler Northrop (Washington State) single, and another on a Dylan LaPointe (Mercer) RBI base hit.

What followed was an onslaught from the Fond du Lac offense. The Dock Spiders scored the next 10 runs of the game, with six coming in the second, and two runs in both the third and fourth innings. It gave Wausau the largest deficit they had faced in a home game at Athletic Park in nearly two years.

The Woodchucks closed the gap slightly in the bottom of the fifth with Gatlin Pitts (Pearl River CC/Western Kentucky) and Kyler Northrop each adding RBIs on groundouts to make it 10-5. But the Dock Spiders answered with three runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh to grow their lead to nine runs, which would be their largest of the game.

But with the Woodchucks down to their final nine outs, Wausau almost pulled off a magical comeback. In the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Chase hit a two-RBI double into left field that made the score 14-7. That was followed by another two-RBI hit from Kyler Northrop that cut the lead to five.

Later in the inning, Dawson Harman (South Carolina/Miami) belted a three-run home run into left field that gave the Woodchucks fans belief, and cut the lead to two. However, those would be the last Wausau runs, as the Dock Spiders recorded the final eight outs of the game without surrendering a run.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• The Woodchucks managed to score seven or more runs in a single inning in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
• If Wausau had completed the comeback, it would’ve been their first nine-run comeback since August 12, 2012, when they came back from 10-1 down against Madison and beat the Mallards, 11-10 in extra innings.
• There were seven different half-innings in the game between the two teams combined where multiple runs scored.
• The 26 combined runs was the third most for a Woodchucks game in 2026.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Woodchucks drop to 14-8, and are 1-2 at the halfway point of the six-game series against Fond du Lac. The Madison Mallards won at home tonight against Lakeshore, so with nine days remaining in the first half, the Woodchucks lead the division on win percentage. If necessary, they do not hold the tiebreaker over Madison. Wausau now must prepare to go back on the road to Fond du Lac, where they will visit the Dock Spiders both tomorrow on Father’s Day at 1:05 and on Monday night at 6:35 p.m.

The Woodchucks then return home for their series finale with Fond du Lac on Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. It’s one of the most fun-filled nights of the summer, as the ZOOperstars make an appearance, Presented by Rib Mountain Paper! In addition, it’s another Bang for Your Buck Night, with tickets that include $2.00 hot dogs, $2.00 tap soda & $4.00 16oz Domestic Drafts. Fans can always purchase tickets to remaining Woodchucks home games during the 2026 season online at woodchucks.com.