Woodchucks Finish First Half with Win over Kenosha

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Northwoods Wausau Woodchucks

Woodchucks Finish First Half with Win over Kenosha

June 30, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Wausau Woodchucks News Release


WAUSAU, WI - The Wausau Woodchucks picked up their fourth two-game series sweep of the 2025 season on Monday afternoon with a 7-4 comeback win over the Kenosha Kingfish.

The Woodchucks finished the first half with a 21-14 record, moving to seven games above .500 for the fourth time this season. The Woodchucks also finished the month of June with an 18-11 record and are now 6-4 against teams from the Great Lakes East.

Wausau had to work from behind to pick up the win. Kenosha hit two home runs, one in the first and the other in the third, to open up a 3-0 lead over the Woodchucks. Wausau was quiet early, only registering three hits in the first four innings of play.

But in the fifth, the bats woke up. Four consecutive hits began a big inning for Wausau, with Noah Malone (Loyola Marymount) roping an RBI single to score Wausau's first run.

Then, Max Soliz Jr. (Kansas) delivered yet again for the Woodchucks. The blazing hot hitter pulled a two-run single down the left field line to tie the game, 3-3. Soliz is hitting .500 in his last 10 games for the Woodchucks, with 20 hits, five home runs, and 20 RBIs in that span.

Dom Rodriguez (Arizona) would give Wausau a 4-3 lead with an RBI single, the sixth hit in the inning for the Chucks. That four-run outburst for Wausau in the fifth was the 13th time this season that the Woodchucks scored four or more runs in a single frame.

Kenosha tied the game in the top of the sixth, but it wouldn't stay that way for long. Wausau took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth with three more runs to make it 7-4. Malone and Soliz each picked up another RBI base hit, and Jake Berkland (Minnesota State-Mankato) helped with an RBI on a sacrifice bunt squeeze play.

While the Woodchucks did not score again, the bullpen locked down any chance of a Kenosha comeback. It started with Ethan Jiezerski (Angelina CC/UT-Tyler) who threw two no-hit innings in relief for the Woodchucks midway through the game.

Two-way freshman Keagen Jirschele (South Dakota State) earned his first win on the mound as a Wausau Woodchuck, as he pitched next, dealing 2.1 innings and only allowed one run on four hits. Jirschele has now given up just one run in 5.1 innings of work over the past four days.

Kade Douglas (CSU-Pueblo) relieved Jirschele in the eighth inning and got the final two outs of that frame to hold Wausau's three-run lead. Reece Clapp (Bradley/Illinois State) then picked up his seventh save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning to finish off the win, putting him just one save behind the Northwoods League lead.

The Woodchucks collected 16 hits in the win, with six different players registering multi-hit games. Christian Smith-Johnson (Texas A&M-CC) went 3-4 and scored two runs, his second three-hit game of 2025. Noah Malone finished 3-5 and is now hitting .486 this season at Athletic Park. Dylan Schlotterback (Paris JC/Kansas), Zach Knowlton (Central Michigan) and Cade Baldridge (Cowley CC/Kansas) chipped in with two hits each.

It was the fourth time in 2025 that the Woodchucks picked up 15 hits or more in a game at Athletic Park. The win also meant that Wausau is now 19-5 this year when scoring five or more runs in a game, and 14-2 when their opponent scores four runs or less.

The Woodchucks will begin the second half tomorrow, and if they win the second half, they will seal their fourth berth to the Northwoods League playoffs. They begin the half by hosting the Kalamazoo Growlers, the defending Northwoods League champions. Wausau split a two-game set on the road against the Growlers in Mid-June, winning the first game 12-3, and dropping the second game, 13-4.

The first of two games between the Woodchucks and Growlers at Athletic Park will be tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. In addition, the Woodchucks will also be hosting the Madison Mallards on the Fourth of July at 6:05 p.m., with postgame fireworks scheduled. Fans can watch the Woodchucks at Athletic Park all summer by purchasing tickets on woodchucks.com.



Northwoods League Stories from June 30, 2025


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