Rainy Night Ends in 3-2 Loss for Chucks
A high-hitting yet low-scoring rainy night ends in a 3-2 loss for the Wausau Woodchucks (13-14) after a long battle at home against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders (13-12).
Chucks pitcher Dante Chirico (Northwest Florida State) started the team off strong, giving up only one hit to the Dock Spiders and striking out five batters in the first two innings. The Woodchucks bats got off to a slow start, with a single from Mark Shallenberger (Evansville) being the only hit of the first two innings.
Chirico managed to pitch his way out of a tough jam during the top of the 3rd, only giving up one run to put Fond du Lac at a 1-0 lead. The Woodchucks landed two runners on the corners during the bottom of the 3rd but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity to plate a run.
Singles hit by Mcgwire Holbrook (West Virginia) and Ryan Sepede (BYU) in the bottom of the 4th inning paved the way for Dwight Allen (Georgia) to drive Holbrook in to plate a run and tie up the game. Chucks pitcher Trevor Ernt (San Jose State) came in to relieve Chirico after four strong innings of pitching and eight total strikeouts.
Ernt battled through the top of the 5th, only giving up one run to the Dock Spiders. The Woodchucks retaliated in kind, with Holbrook driving in Shallenberger to plate a run and even the score out at 2-2 to finish off the 5th inning.
The score remained tied at 2-2 until the top of the 9th, when the Dock Spiders managed to sneak in one run to pull ahead. The Chucks battled back, starting off strong with Widder launching a single to center field, followed by Shallenberger being advanced to first on a hit by pitch. The Chucks were unable to drive either runner in to score, resulting in a hard-fought loss on a cool, rainy night.
The Wausau Woodchucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 28th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 280 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit woodchucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rockers as your favorite team.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
