WAUSAU PILOT AND REVIEW
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -The Wisconsin Woodchucks on Friday lost a close matchup with the Pit Spitters in Traverse City with a final score of 2-1.
Both pitchers started off hot, as Pat Hohlfeld pitched a scoreless first five innings for Traverse City, and Greyson Fletcher did the same for the Woodchucks.
The Woodchucks finally struck first in the top of the 6th inning. Kyle Simmons led us off with a bunt single, and Brandon Seltzer got a hit into right field to advance Simmons to 3rd. Adam Frank grounded a ball to the Traverse City shortstop that got Seltzer out at second base, but allowed Simmons to score the first run of the ballgame, giving the Chucks a 1-0 lead.
Fletcher continued his dazzling start, going 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 6th after being given his first lead of the ballgame.
Things remained mostly quiet going forward. Greyson Fletcher gave up a leadoff double in the bottom of the 8th inning, but a heads-up play by Kyle Simmons on a ground ball hit to him on the next at-bat allowed him to retire the lead runner. After 8, the Woodchucks were still up 1-0, and Greyson Fletcher still had a shutout.
The Woodchucks had their hearts broken in the bottom of the 9th. Greyson Fletcher got the first two outs, but gave up a walk to Andrew Morrow. The next batter, Jake Wilson singled to advance the pinch-runner Drake Titus to 3rd base. Nolan Soliveres tried to throw out Wilson stealing second to end the game, but the ball went into center field, allowing Titus to score the tying run. The next batter, Kam Smith singled into center field to score Wilson and win the game for the Pit Spitters.
Top Performers
Greyson Fletcher had an amazing start for the Woodchucks, going eight and two-thirds innings for the Woodchucks while allowing just two runs and striking out five.
Brandon Seltzer and T.J. Reeves both went two-for-four.
Next Up
The Wisconsin Woodchucks will stay in Michigan and begin a two-game series against the Kalamazoo Growlers before heading into the All-Star break.
