WAUSAU\u2019S WIN, LAKESHORE\u2019S LOSS BRINGS PLAYOFF RACE DOWN TO FINAL TWO GAMES<\/b><\/p>\n
KENOSHA, WI- There were points in Friday night\u2019s action in the Northwoods League where, if results stood, Wausau would be eliminated from playoff contention. Instead, the Woodchucks right back in the hunt with two games to play, after a razor thin 5-4 win at Kenosha in the Woodchucks\u2019 final road game of the 2026 regular season.<\/p>\n
That win, and Lakeshore\u2019s 7-6 loss at home in 10 innings to Madison, means the Woodchucks are only a half game behind the Chinooks for the second and final playoff place in the Great Lakes West, with each team set to play two games. The Woodchucks now need to win both of their games and depend on one Lakeshore loss, or split the final two games of the summer and depend on Lakeshore losing both of their final games in order to clinch a playoff spot.<\/p>\n
There were multiple heroes on the evening, most notably Caleb Karll (Montevallo), who hit his first home run of the summer and had three RBIs, including the go-ahead RBI that would prove to bring in the winning run in the ninth inning. Pete Jezerinac (Kennesaw State) pitched 2.1 hitless innings out of the bullpen, earning the win after walking just one batter and striking out four down the stretch.<\/p>\n
THE HIGHLIGHTS<\/b><\/p>\n
For the fourth successive game, the Woodchucks took the lead at the start. In the top of the first, a groundout from Ryan Chase (Santa Fe CC\/Kansas) scored Keagen Jirschele (South Dakota State). However, Kenosha responded with a run in the bottom of the first, and took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third.<\/p>\n
A Joey McLaughlin (Arkansas State) RBI triple cut the lead to one in the top of the fourth, but Kenosha cancelled out that run with a run of their own in the bottom half, making the score 4-2. But remarkably, in the fifth inning, everything changed when Caleb Karll hit his first home run of the season, a two-run bomb to left field after an eight-pitch battle, that tied the game at four.<\/p>\n
Late on, when the Woodchucks\u2019 needed players to step up, they rose to the occasion. Kenosha loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and when Pete Jezerinac entered the game from the bullpen, he struck out the last hitter of the inning to make it through unscathed. Then, in the ninth, Wausau loaded the bases, and with two outs an nobody on base, the Woodchucks loaded the bases on three consecutive walks.<\/p>\n
The next batter, Caleb Karll, was hit by a pitch, giving the Woodchucks their biggest run of the summer to take the lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the winning run came to the plate, but a deep fly out to center field ended the game, reviving Wausau\u2019s chances of making the postseason.<\/p>\n
NOTES AND NUMBERS<\/b><\/p>\n