Wausau Woodchucks
DULUTH, MN (WSAU) — The Woodchucks extended their win streak to five with a 9-2 win over Duluth on Friday.
The first two innings looked like a pitcher’s duel, a rare occurrence for the Woodchucks bats. Chris Scinta (U of Miami) sat down three batters via strikeout and gave up just one hit through two innings.
The Woodchucks returned to normal form when they plated across two runs in the 3rd inning. Daniel Harden (McClennan Comm. College) rocketed a single up the middle and the speedy Christian Smith-Johnson (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and Jake Berkland (Mankato St.) were able to open the scoring for the Chucks. The base hit was huge for Harden who had just five hits prior to tonight.
The bases were busy as the Chucks loaded them up in the 6th after a base hit and a pair of walks. With ducks on the pond and two outs, Brayden Smith (Iowa Western Comm. College) walked on four pitches. The Chucks would strand three and led 3-0 onto the bottom of the 6th.
Jake Berkland reached on a single in the 7th, stole second base, and scored on two straight wild pitches. That gave Wausau a 4-1 lead after 7.
Insurance runs were the name of the game tonight. Smith-Johnson came across due to three straight Chucks singles. The Huskies shot themselves in the foot throwing two straight wild pitches, allowing Jake Berkland and Jonah St. Antoine (U of Pittsburg) to score. Max Galvin would add another on a sacrifice fly sending Harden home.
Max Soliz Jr. put the icing on the cake and made it a five-run inning on a solo home run, his second of the season. Duluth got one back in the 9th.
It was the first matchup between the two teams since 2016. Wausau will stay on the road for the rest of the weekend, playing two in Thunder Bay starting tonight. They’ll return home after an off day on Monday.
Other scores from the Great Lakes Division from Friday include:
Madison 15, Wisconsin Rapids 2
Kalamazoo 3, Battle Creek 1
Lakeshore 10, Royal Oak 9
Green Bay 16, Fond du Lac 11
Waterloo 11, Eau Claire 6
Kenosha 2, Traverse City 1
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