(GREEN BAY ROCKERS) ASHWAUBENON – The Wausau Woodchucks defeated the Green Bay Rockers 9-6 in game one of a pivotal series.
Walks hurt Green Bay as Wausau scored their runs on just seven total hits. Skylar Sievert was on the mound for the Woodchucks explosive first inning.
After an error by Ben Fishel to start the game, Sievert then loaded the bases on a single and a walk. That then set up Max Soliz, who notched his seventh homer of the season for a grand slam, propelling the Chucks to a 4-0 lead. Wausau would tack on another with Joey McLaughlin’s RBI double.
Coleman Lewis would get Green Bay on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run shot to center field. The first central homerun at Capital Credit Union Park this summer made the score 5-2. Lewis is now one home run shy of the single season Green Bay record.
The Rockers then found some steady innings from the mound, courtesy of Henry Irwin who had his best outing of the year. He threw four hitless innings and didn’t surrender any runs. His performance set up the Rocker offense to tie the game in the fifth.
Daniel Harden led off the frame with a solo homerun before Dom Bello drew an RBI walk off of Sam Nitzke. After Brayden Pleau recorded an RBI fielder’s choice, the score was knotted at five apiece. The Woodchucks then came alive in the eighth inning against Cord Copley, the third Rocker arm in the game.
Jackson Petsche recorded a two-RBI double to take the lead, followed by Soliz’s two-RBI single. Max continues to be one of the best bats in the Northwoods League, tallying six RBIs in the game. The Rockers added one in the eighth but that would be all as they dropped game one of the series.
They now reside 3.5 games behind Lakeshore, who picked up a win tonight against Traverse City. The Woodchucks, Rockers and Chinooks will all continue to battle for the last playoff spot in the Great Lakes West.
The Rockers return home on Wednesday, August 5, hosting the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters! First pitch is slated for 6:35 pm,
