Woodchucks Dominate in Return to Action with Win in Duluth
Northwoods Wausau Woodchucks

Woodchucks Dominate in Return to Action with Win in Duluth

Published on July 18, 2026 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Wausau Woodchucks News Release


DULUTH, MN- The Woodchucks had three consecutive unexpected off days due to poor air quality smoke that resulted in game cancellations, but they looked sharp as ever on Saturday with a convincing 11-1 win at Wade Stadium over the Duluth Huskies.

Pitching was superb, as Gavin Kindell (Florida Southwestern State CC/South Alabama) made his first start and picked up his first win of his Northwoods League career, tossing five innings and allowing just one run, with one walk and four strikeouts. Brayden Mazzacano (Illinois/Northern Illinois) carried that momentum into a fantastic relief appearance, dealing three scoreless frames with no walks and five punchouts. Aiden Goodwin (Snead State CC/Georgia Highlands) dealt a scoreless inning in relief as well.

At the plate, Ryan Chase (Santa Fe CC/Kansas) went 2-4 with an extra base hit and a double. Noah Malone (Loyola Marymount) hit a home run as part of a two-RBI day, where he scored a run in the win. Joey McLaughlin (Arkansas State) finished 1-4 with an extra base hit, an RBI, and two runs scored.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Neither team scored until the third inning, but it was Wausau who struck first. Joey McLaughlin led off the inning with a triple off the wall in right-center field, and was promptly brought in on an infield RBI single by Peyton Firgens (McClennan CC/Mississippi State).

Wausau's offense started to look the part in the fourth. The Chucks extended their lead in the frame when Noah Malone hit his second home run of the summer, a monster two-run blast down the left field line. Another run came in to score when Bradon Durfee (Pasco-Hernando State/Kansas) raced home on a Joey McLaughlin groundout to make it 4-0.

Duluth got a run on the board in the bottom of the fourth, but Wausau quickly extended its lead in the fifth. Ryan Chase tabbed an RBI single to score Lane Walton (Arkansas State). Later in the inning Chase scored on a wild pitch, and Soliz touched home after a Duluth throwing error to extend Wausau's lead to six.

In the eighth, Wausau brought in three runs, with an RBI single from Walton, an RBI double from Ryan Chase, and another run scoring on an error. Goodwin closed things out with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to secure a double digit win for the Woodchucks.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

Six of Wausau's eight hits on the day came with two strikes, including all hits that resulted in RBIs.

The Woodchucks have now scored ten or more runs in 16 games, winning 15 such contests.

With Ryan Chase's multi-hit day, the Kansas commit has now reached base safely in 12 consecutive games.

Wausau has now managed two wins by a double-digit margin on the road this season, with both coming in the second half.

WHAT'S NEXT

Wausau improves to 31-14 in the summer, and have won more than two-thirds of the games they've played in 2026. They also improved to 10-5 in the second half, the sixth Northwoods League team to pick up double digits wins at this point in the half. However, with Lakeshore's win, Wausau remains two games behind the division leaders in the Great Lakes West second half standings.

Wausau stays in Duluth and will play the Huskies tomorrow, Sunday, at 3:05 p.m. If they win that game, it will be their first two-game road sweep since June 21-22.

Then, on Monday, July 20, Wausau begins an eight-game homestand, its longest of the summer, at Athletic Park when they face the Madison Mallards for the final time in the 2026 regular season. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m. It's "World Cup Theme Night" at the ballpark, as fans will be able to celebrate the iconic soccer tournament held in the United States this summer. The first 500 fans will receive a Woodchucks mini soccer ball! In addition, MC United is also holding its Fundraiser Night! Tickets for this game and all remaining 2026 Woodchucks home games are available for purchase exclusively on woodchucks.com.

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Northwoods League Stories from July 18, 2026


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