Chinooks' Bats Go Quiet Late in 7-6 Loss to Fond du Lac

Sports stats



Northwoods Lakeshore Chinooks

Chinooks' Bats Go Quiet Late in 7-6 Loss to Fond du Lac

June 7, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Lakeshore Chinooks News Release


MEQUON, Wis.- Chinooks pitcher Brian Crooms stood on the pitcher's mound at Moonlight Graham Field in the top of the seventh inning Saturday night. Bases loaded, nobody out, Chinooks clinging to a 6-3 lead.

After clutch back-to-back strikeouts from the Georgia State Panther, Dock Spiders first baseman Jonathan Fitz floated a double down the right field line and into the corner, clearing the bases and tying the game.

It was the moment the tides completely turned in Fond du Lac's favor. The Spiders would score once more in the eighth inning and would come away with a 7-6 victory over Lakeshore.

For Chinooks manager Mikel Moreno, it was a frustrating way to lose their tenth game of the season. He felt his pitchers had good nights.

"They hit it where we're not," he said. "They did a really good job putting the ball in play...and that just happens."

Moreno was really satisfied with the pitches his guys threw, praising them all for having really strong stuff throughout.

Chinooks starter Koehn Thomas set the tone early. He was hitless through three innings and walked just one of the 21 batters he faced in five innings of work. Crooms came in and outside of the big hit, continued his steady run of form.

"You look at his last two outings, his (velocity) has been good, his breaking ball has been good, he hasn't walked anybody," Moreno said about Crooms' performance. "I'm going to keep pitching him because he's doing exactly what I want him to do."

Michael Caruso followed Crooms for his season debut and looked sharp, too. Two of his three outs recorded were punchouts.

The bats just weren't there for a full nine innings.

The Chinooks quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and held a 5-1 lead going into the fifth inning.

"We scored four and then we kind of went quiet," Moreno said.

The next two Chinooks runs would score on a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly. In the final three innings, Lakeshore only mustered a single hit. Moreno's thoughts on the dead bats late were simple.

"Gotta be better."

The Chinooks were without several of their top bats for the loss. David Hogg II was inactive. Jacob Kowes, who leads the team in batting average (.384), is nursing an injury and was only available to pinch hit late.

But help is on the way. Moreno said utility player Beckett Zavorek is expected to start at shortstop in tomorrow afternoon's rematch with the Dock Spiders.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CT as the Chinooks look to finally get their first win over Fond du Lac this season at the fourth time of asking.

Written by Peter Miller



Northwoods League Stories from June 7, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central