For Wausau Pilot & Review
WAUSAU – The Wausau Woodchucks (29-31) battled the Kenosha Kingfish (29-32) until the very end on an exciting Monday night, ultimately being unable to rally for the win despite their best efforts and losing nearly four-hour game 13-11 in Northwoods League baseball action at Athletic Park.
The Woodchucks started the game off quietly until the bottom of the fourth inning, when a Nik Levensteins (North Georgia) single scored Elie Kligman (Wake Forest) from third base, starting a rally for the home team. The rally continued in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kligman smoked a single to right field to score Aidan Corn (Pasco-Hernando).
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Chucks rally efforts exploded, scoring five runs during the inning to bring their deficit to 12-7. The five runs came from the Kingfish walking four Chucks batters and one single to left field by Corn.
Zach Kluvers (North Dakota State), Maurice Gomez (Keiser), and Kligman were each walked in the bottom of the eighth to load the bases for the Chucks with two outs. The Kingfish brought in a new pitcher to try to end the inning, but a wild pitch ended up bringing Kluvers home to plate another run for Wausau.
The Chucks loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth inning with three consecutive hits, inching themselves closer with another run scored on an RBI single from Kluvers. Corn smashed a two-run single over the head of the third baseman to make it a two-run game. Though the Woodchucks loaded the bases once more with two outs, they wouldn’t be able to score again, leaving the game with a final score of 13-11.
The Woodchucks will return to Athletic Park on Wednesday to face the Kenosha Kingfish again at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday’s game will feature a team poster giveaway to the first 500 fans to walk through the gates. Tickets can be purchased online at https://wausau-woodchucks.nwltickets.com/ or by calling 715-845-5055.
