WOODCHUCKS\u2019 MAGIC NUMBER DOWN TO FOUR, HARMAN\u2019S FIVE RBI HELP WAUSAU KEEP CONTROL IN DIVISION<\/b><\/p>\n
WAUSAU, WI\u2014\u00a0 The Wausau Woodchucks turned the tables on the team that knocked them out of the first half division title race last year when they beat Green Bay 11-4 in a critical game at Athletic Park on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
The win all but knocks out Green Bay mathematically in the Great Lakes West First Half playoff race, and takes Wausau\u2019s magic number down to four to win the division. Dawson Harman (South Carolina\/Miami) had a trademark night at the plate, going 2-2 with a home run and five RBIs, while reaching all four times he came to the plate. Gatlin Pitts (Pearl River CC\/Western Kentucky) also reached four times, with two hits, an RBI and a stolen base.<\/p>\n
Wausau starter Carter White (Eastern Michigan\/Transfer Portal) was back to his best, earning his second win of the season after five innings of work, where he collected seven strikeouts. Pete Jezerinac (Kennesaw State) was excellent yet again out of the bullpen, where he allowed just one hit in two and a third important innings in the late stages. Reece Clapp (Illinois State) pitched the ninth, where he retired the Rockers in order to finish off the win.<\/p>\n
THE HIGHLIGHTS<\/b><\/p>\n
Wausau jumped on the Rockers from the first pitch. In the bottom of the first, the Woodchucks constructed a big two-out rally, started by an RBI single from Gatlin Pitts. The next batter, Dawson Harman, mashed a three-run home run over the wall in center field, one of the longest home runs of the season for Wausau.<\/p>\n
That made it 4-0, but Green Bay\u00a0 threatened with back-to-back innings with the bases loaded. Carter White limited the damage to only one run, and Wausau used that momentum to build the lead in the third. Dawson Harman, in his second at-bat of the game, pulled an RBI double down the third base line to make it 6-1.<\/p>\n
The Woodchucks weren\u2019t done. In the fifth, a wild pitch scored Kyler Northrop (Washington State) to increase the lead to six. Jace Souza (Texas Tech\/USC) earned an RBI on a groundout later in the inning, and Holden Groebl (Cowley CC\/Kansas) finished off the frame with an RBI single to make it 9-1.<\/p>\n
Green Bay reignited their interest with a three-run home run in the sixth that cut the lead to five, but Wausau had the final word. Two insurance runs came home in the eighth inning, as Joey McLaughlin (Arkansas State) scored on a wild pitch, and Kyler Northrop brought home a run on a groundout.<\/p>\n
NOTES AND NUMBERS<\/b><\/p>\n