Flooding the Great Plains – Back to Back Sweeps For the Woodchucks
The Woodchucks make it five in a row and two straight sweeps, defeating Duluth 9-2 and sending a message to a team they haven’t seen since 2016.
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, and like a dog on bone he stole 2nd , and came around on two straight wild pitches. Chucks led 4-1 in the bottom of the 7th.
Clutch time 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 pitch’s, 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. The Chucks allowed one in the ninth, but it wouldn’t matter, and the hottest team in the Northwoods made it look easy in Duluth once again.
Up next the Chucks will play an exciting series against another hot team, the Thunder Bay Border Cats. After that, it’s back to Athletic Park on Tuesday June 18. Come on down for Hot Dog Hundo night! Buy a hot dog and give yourself a chance to find one wrapped with $100!
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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. Entering its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.woodchucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Woodchucks 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]
