MEQUON, Wisconsin — The Traverse City Pit Spitters built a four-run lead, but they needed some late-inning heroics to force extra innings and get the 7-5 win against the Lakeshore Chinooks on Monday.
The Pit Spitters scored two in the second inning and then one each in the fourth and sixth to go up 4-0.
Vahn Lackey and Bretty Denby led off the second with back-to-back walks, but that was followed by back-to-back outs from Carter Hain and Ethan Belk.
The Pit Spitters (22-20) weren’t about to let the Chinooks (18-22) off the hook that easily though. They showcased plenty of patience to reel in two runs on three straight walks by Michael Tchavdarov, Brett Rozman and Ethan Guerra.
Patience was the name of the game for the Pit Spitters on Monday as they finished the Northwoods League contest with 15 free passes courtesy of Chinook pitching.
Belk scored on an error in the fourth and then again in the sixth after leading off the inning with a double and coming home on a Rozman RBI groundout for the 4-0 lead.
But the Chinooks erased that deficit with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and three in the seventh to take a 5-4 lead in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
Joey Nerat launched a two-run homer in the sixth and singled in two more in the sixth after a bases-loaded walk to Dominic Kibler scored Jack Halloran.
Just like that, the Chinooks were up 5-4.
The score remained 5-4 until the top of the ninth when the Pit Spitters took advantage of their last opportunity and tied the game.
Rozman led off with a four-pitch walk followed by a Guerra single and a groundout from Trent Reed that put two runners in scoring position.
When Daniel Jackson rifled a double to center, it looked as if the Pit Spitters would take the lead. But Guerra was thrown out on a perfect relay play from center to second to home to keep the game knotted at 5-5.
A 1-2-3 ninth from Traverse City reliever Charlie Wolf sent the game to extras, where the Pit Spitters put two on the board in the top of the 10th and then held serve in the bottom of the frame to secure the win.
With the extra-inning runner on second, the Pit Spitters scored twice without having to swing the bat as they drew five walks starting with Belk to lead off the 10th.
Tchavdarov flew out to left field, and then Rozman, Guerra, Reed and Jackson all walked to force in the winning runs.
Wolf got the win — his first of the season — throwing the final three innings and retiring all nine batters he faced while striking out three.
Seth Gurr took the no-decision. The reliever-turned-starter threw 100 pitches over 6.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts.
Traverse City has now won four straight and is tied with the Rockford Rivets at 5-1 for first place in the second-half standings of the Great Lakes East Division
Eyeing a playoff berth with plenty of work to do, the Pit Spitters now return home to Turtle Creek Stadium for four games in three days as they welcome in the Royal Oak Leprechauns Tuesday through Thursday.
The GLE’s two newest franchises square off at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and then have a morning-night doubleheader Wednesday.
The first game Wednesday is slated for 11:05 a.m. at the Creek followed by a 7:05 p.m. first pitch for the nightcap of the twinbill.
The series finale is set for 7:05 p.m. Thursday before the Pit Spitters take off for Kokomo, Indiana, for a brief two-game road trip against the Jackrabbits on Friday and Saturday.