Explosive Woodchucks Bats Fuel 3rd Straight Chinooks Defeat
June 25, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Lakeshore Chinooks News Release
WAUSAU, Wis. - It was a home run party at Athletic Park on Tuesday night. But not for the Chinooks.
The Wausau Woodchucks offense exploded for 16 hits off the Lakeshore pitchers on their way to defeating the Chinooks 17-7.
Every Woodchuck starter recorded a hit. Four of their knocks as a team left the park as well. It's the first time the home squad has hit three long balls in a game this season, let alone four.
All but one of the Woodchucks' blasts came from the same player. Left fielder Noah Malone celebrated his 19th birthday in style, recording a hat trick of homers. He joins a group of just 23 players in Northwoods League history to hit three dingers in one game.
From the Lakeshore perspective, the Chinooks went blow-for-blow with the Woodchucks for the first five innings.
Both teams got on the board early, scoring a run in each of their 1st inning frames. Wausau took a 4-1 lead into the fifth inning, but Lakeshore punched right back.
Hitting in the cleanup spot, left fielder Nate Gray ripped a bases-clearing 3-RBI double to tie the game. After a scoreless bottom of the inning, the 'Nooks scored three more in the top of the 6th to take a 7-4 advantage thanks to Kyle Micklus 2-RBI single (his fourth RBI in two games) and a throwing error by Woodchucks catcher Max Soliz.
Lakeshore seemed poised to salvage a series split after yesterday's 8-3 defeat. Instead, the bullpen fell apart.
Jacob Jacome took the mound in the bottom half of the sixth with a 7-4 lead. He left the game three batters later without recording an out.
Payton Soske did his best to limit any more damage, but the Woodchucks bats simply could not be quieted. Wausau went on to score six runs in the inning to take an 11-7 lead, building a cushion Lakeshore couldn't overcome.
Another 6-run Woodchucks inning in 8th put the nail in the coffin for the Chinooks. Michael Caruso logged all six earned runs in his first appearance in six days.
The agonizing part for Lakeshore is that the offense did plate seven runs on 10 base hits. Their pitchers have struggled to limit the big inning, an issue which has plagued them throughout the first half of this season.
The 'Nooks now sit at 10-20, 5.5 games back of third-place Fond du Lac. With only six games to go in the first half of the season, the chances of clinching a playoff spot in the first half are slipping out of reach.
But, there is good news. Lakeshore plays four of their next six at Moonlight Graham Field, starting Wednesday evening against the Green Bay Rockers. Brandin Crawford is projected to get the ball for his second start as a Chinook, giving Moreno's guys a chance to build some momentum before the reset on July 1.
Northwoods League Stories from June 25, 2025
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- Huskies Score a Dozen for Second-Straight Night, Beat Rochester in Game Two - Duluth Huskies
- Rafters' Late Game Heroics Defeat the Rivets in Rain Delayed Affair - Rockford Rivets
- Explosive Woodchucks Bats Fuel 3rd Straight Chinooks Defeat - Lakeshore Chinooks
- Malone Hits Three Home Runs, Woodchucks Win by 10 against Chinooks - Wausau Woodchucks
- Madison Mallards Swept in Doubleheader - Madison Mallards
- Dock Spiders Split with Kenosha in a Doubleheader - Fond du Lac Dock Spiders
- Stingers Finish Road Trip with a Win in Bismarck - Willmar Stingers
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