Woodchucks Reel off Six Homers in Rout
ASHWAUBENON, WI – Outfielder Stephen Reid’s record-setting performance lifted the Wisconsin Woodchucks (32-21) to a 19-5 road victory Monday night against the Green Bay Booyah (23-30).
The Georgia Tech sophomore became the second player in league history and the first in franchise history to homer four times in the same game.
Reid was far from the only hot bat in the Woodchucks lineup Monday. Second baseman Harrison Long (3-for-5 with 3 runs in his team debut) drove in the game’s first run in the top of the second.
Later in the inning, Ryan Sepede’s grand slam to center field plated Anthony Catalano, Long and Jacob Schoenvogel. The homer was Sepede’s second of the season and the first of six Woodchuck blasts in the game.
But the inning wasn’t over. Reid’s solo homer put the Chucks ahead 6-0, a run which would later prove decisive.
A pair of big flies in the third inning solidified the advantage. Catalano notched his first of the season before Reid clobbered his second of the night, a two-run moonshot to left.
Reid’s third homer, also to left field, swelled the lead to 13-0 in the top of the fifth.
Starting pitcher Cade Denton worked six innings of two-run ball, striking out two in his first win of the season. Reliever Dane Miller allowed one run over two innings, and Thomas Wilhite pitched a ninth inning where the Booyah scored a pair of unearned runs.
But all eyes were on Stephen Reid as he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth. After working a 2-1 count, he sent Parker Heidorf’s pitch over the right-center field wall for his record-setting fourth homer.
Reid joins former Lakeshore Chinook and current Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Luke Raley as one of two Northwoods League players to homer four times in one game.
Reid grounded into a fielder’s choice in his only other official at-bat in the 4-for-5 performance. He came up to bat in the eighth but was hit by a 1-1 pitch and did not get another opportunity.
The Woodchucks’ six homers and 19 runs are both new season-highs for an offense that has scored four or more runs in eight games in a row.
The win improves the Woodchucks’ second-half record to 11-7 and makes them 8-0 against the Booyah this season.
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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]
