'Nooks Drop Game 1 of Doubleheader
Northwoods Lakeshore Chinooks

'Nooks Drop Game 1 of Doubleheader

July 9, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Lakeshore Chinooks News Release


GREEN BAY, Wis (WYATT BAUMEYER). - After escaping trouble for multiple innings, Lakeshore Chinooks' right-hander Brandin Crawford ran into an impossible situation on Wednesday afternoon.

A leadoff single by Green Bay Rockers' designated hitter Caleb Daniel, followed by consecutive walks, placed the right-hander into a bases-loaded no-out jam in the sixth inning.

Facing a heightened pitch count, Crawford walked five Rockers and struggled with his command, Manager Mikel Moreno called upon left-hander Bobby Perebzak, inheriting a less-than-desirable scenario in a 3-3 tie.

The left-hander went to work on Rockers' third baseman Eric Jeon, and induced a sacrifice fly, scoring the go-ahead run. A once-impossible situation to escape seemed more probable with runners on the corners and one out-a ground ball would most likely end the inning.

However, the wheels soon fell off the bus, as Perebzak lost his command, walking two and allowing three further runs. The Chinooks failed to overcome that four-run sixth, ultimately losing 10-3 in a challenging first game of a split doubleheader.

Chinooks' pitching coach Aidan Wojciehowski said his pitchers mentally struggled in Wednesday's game 1 loss.

"Baseball is a challenging game, and if you make it more challenging by worrying about things you cannot control, it gets really difficult," Wojciehowski said.

Wojciehowski said his pitchers must focus on their current situation and not let adversity get the best of them.

"We let negative stuff affect how we threw our next pitch," Wojciehowski said. "It doesn't matter what happened the pitch before, you must be locked in for the next pitch."

Wojciehowski said both his pitchers faced challenging situations, yet called those situations an opportunity to perform.

"It's an opportunity to learn and grow," Wojciehowski said. "The next time you're in that situation, you have more experience."

Despite failing to escape the sixth, Wojciehowski said Perebzak saved a "tired" bullpen by pitching four innings in relief of Crawford.

"He went out there and grinded," Wojciechowski said. "He got the job done, saving the bullpen for next week."

On the offensive side, the Chinooks had early momentum, scoring twice in the second inning.

With two outs and no one on base, Chinooks' second baseman Danny Inzunza reached on a double and later scored after a wild pitch and an errant throw to third that went into left field by Rockers' catcher Brayden Buchanan.

Lakeshore added a second run on an RBI single by catcher Jack Kleveno. Kleveno finished Wednesday's first game reaching in all four of his plate appearances.

"I was trying to stick to my approach and hit a ball hard somewhere," Kleveno said.

Kleveno said he was hunting for his pitch on the outer half of the strike zone, and didn't give in when that pitch wasn't there, as shown by his three walks.

As far as helping his struggling pitchers, Kleveno said he tried to keep them calm in turbulent times, not wanting to exacerbate any situation.

"I tell them [the pitchers] to get back to what they're doing and stick to their plan," Kleveno said.

Lakeshore goes for the doubleheader split Wednesday night at 6:35 CDT.

Right-hander Nate Ciemny is expected to start.



Northwoods League Stories from July 9, 2025


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