MEQUON, Wis. — Joshua Chairez hit a two-out, walk-off single to center field to give the Lakeshore Chinooks an 8-7 win over Traverse City in 11 innings.
Both teams scored in the 10th in Tuesday’s Northwoods League baseball game in front of 813 fans at Kapco Park in Mequon, Wisconsin, with TC’s Sean Martinez singling in Jacob Kucharczyk.
The setback cost the Pit Spitters the top spot in the division.
Royal Oak beat Kalamazoo 11-4, moving the Leprechauns a half game past Traverse City in the Great Lakes East with 11 games remaining.
For the second night in a row, Traverse City saw an early lead dissipate, building a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth before Great Lakes West leader Lakeshore scored twice in the fifth and four more in the sixth to chase TC starter Nathan Webb.
Ty Jenkins came on in relief and tossed four scoreless frames, extending his streak to 11 to start his Spitters career.
Kucharczyk hit a pair of doubles in the game, JT Smith had a double among two hits and Ethan Guerra drove in two runs to move into a tie for third in the league with 52 RBI. Mason Pilarski stole two bases, walked and drove in a run.
Traverse City is fourth in the 26-team Northwoods in attendance, averaging 2,181 fans per game. Only Kenosha (2,286), Kalamazoo (2,337) and Madison (5,916) have higher averages. Twelve teams average less than 1,000 fans per contest, including Royal Oak, which is dead last in the league at 515 fans per game.