Timely Defense Helps Woodchucks Thwart Booyah Rally
ASHWAUBENON, WI – Early offense and timely defense helped the Wisconsin Woodchucks defeat the Green Bay Booyah by a score of 6-5 on Monday night.
Wisconsin jumped ahead early on Tyler Kehoe’s RBI single, which plated Kevin Kilpatrick in the top of the second. The very next at-bat, Jordan Schaffer’s RBI single drove in Antonio Valdez and Tyler MacGregor. CJ Kayfus’ sacrifice fly brought Kehoe home, which put the visitors ahead 4-0.
Starting pitcher Tyler Hoeft kept the Booyah off the board until Jake Berg’s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. The Washington State righty picked up his second win of the season, striking out four over five and one-third innings.
The Woodchucks tacked on insurance runs in both the seventh and the eighth, which proved vital in the win. Schaffer scored on a wild pitch in the seventh and Tommy Delgado (pinch running for Louie Albrecht) followed suit in the eighth. Both runs came across to score with two outs.
Green Bay cut the deficit to one on Nadir Lewis’ three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. Tom Kane was called in from the bullpen and escaped the inning after Schaffer’s barehanded web gem at short.
Kane completed the four-out save with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth inning. The game ended on Kilpatrick’s sliding catch in foul territory in left field.
The Woodchucks have now won three games in a row, matching their longest win streak of the season. They remain in first place, a half-game ahead of the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders in the Great Lakes West division.
Top Performers
Hoeft stranded five baserunners in the first two innings of his start before settling in to retire seven hitters in a row. He improved his record to 2-1 with the win.
Richie Rivera worked a scoreless sixth inning and recorded a strikeout in relief of Hoeft.
Geo Camfield stranded a leadoff double en route to a scoreless inning of relief in the seventh.
Thomas Kane is now 3-for-3 in save opportunities after coming in to finish the game with two outs in the eighth.
Schaffer was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI. He also stole a base.
Griffin Lockwood-Powell was 2-for-4 with a RBI.
Kehoe collected a pair of hits and scored a run for the second straight game.
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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]
