MAGIC NUMBER TO CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT DOWN TO THREE AS WAUSAU TURNS ON THE FLAIR WITH FIVE HOME RUNS FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

WAUSAU, WI—  With the pressure on in Wausau’s final game at home in the first half, the Woodchucks delivered in a big way with a convincing 15-3 victory over the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders at Athletic Park on Friday night.

Wausau hit five home runs in a game for the first time this season, with two of them coming from Dylan LaPointe (Mercer) in a 3-5 performance at the plate. Dawson Harman (South Carolina/Miami) homered for a second straight game, and went 2-4 with two RBIs. Caleb Danzeisen (Arizona) hit his first home at Athletic Park, and reached base four times in the win.

The pitching followed suit. L.J. Drummond (Miami/Transfer Portal) tossed five strong innings in his fifth start of the summer, racking up nine strikeouts—the most by any Woodchucks pitcher in a start this summer. Brady Wright (Santa Fe CC/Kansas) punched out four and allowed no hits in 2.2 innings in relief. Jackson King (McHenry County CC/Central Michigan) got the final four outs of the game via strikeouts, and surrendered no runs in his outing.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Fond du Lac took the first lead of the game thanks to a two-run home run in the first inning. Wausau answered back in the bottom of the second on the first home run by Dylan LaPointe (Mercer), a two-run blast into left field.

What followed in the next seven innings was exceptional baseball from Wausau. The Woodchucks took the lead in the third on a sacrifice fly from Kyler Northrop (Washington State), and scored again to make it 4-2 on an RBI single from Dawson Harman. Fond du Lac scored an unearned run in the fourth to make it 4-3, but in the bottom half of the inning, Wausau extended the lead on another sac fly RBI from Northrop, and an infield RBI single from Jace Souza (Texas Tech/USC).

Then, in the fifth, Souza delivered again with a two-RBI triple, and executed a double steal with Jake Berkland (Minnesota State-Mankato/Kansas) to come home and score the third run of the inning. Dylan LaPointe would get the Woodchucks to double digits in the sixth, with his second home run of the game. Then, in the seventh, Dawson Harman followed him up with a moonshot over the left field fence, a two-run home run that put Wausau up 12-3.

Wausau had others who wanted to join the home run party in the eighth. It started with Holden Groebl (Cowley CC/Kansas), who blasted his second home run of the week into left field. He was followed up by Caleb Danzeisen, who hit the fifth and final home run of the night, a solo shot into right-center field.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• The Woodchucks set a single game high for the season tonight in home runs (5).
• Dylan LaPointe joined Dawson Harman as the two Woodchucks with multi-home run games this summer.
• Wausau pitching did not allow a hit in the final five innings of the game, and set a single game season high for total strikeouts (16). They have struck out 28 hitters over the last 18 innings.
• After not scoring a run in the first inning, Wausau scored runs in each of the final seven frames, with multiple runs in six of those innings.
• The Woodchucks have won five consecutive games for the second time this summer.
• Woodchucks manager Corey Thompson now has 199 career victories in five total seasons in Wausau.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Woodchucks improve to 19-8, and their magic number to clinch a playoff spot with the Great Lakes West First Half division title. With Madison’s win tonight at Rockford, the two teams stay level in the standings. However, Wausau has the better winning percentage, and can win the division if they sweep their final three games of the first half.

Those final three games will be played away from Athletic Park. The stretch begins tomorrow, Saturday, June 27,  when the Woodchucks play their eighth and final game of the first half against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. That game is on the road at Herr-Baker Field, with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. Wausau will then conclude the first half with two games at Witter Field against Wisconsin Rapids on Sunday and Monday. Wausau’s first two games of the second half will also be played on the road.

That means the Woodchucks won’t return home until next Thursday, July 2, when they face the Kenosha Kingfish for the first time in the 2026 season. First pitch of that game is set for 6:35 p.m. It’s another Thirsty Thursday at the ballpark, as fans can enjoy $4 Domestic 16 oz Drafts all night! In addition, it’s the Wausau East Band Fundraiser night! All tickets for remaining Woodchucks games in the 2026 season can be purchased exclusively on woodchucks.com.