Wausau Woodchucks open second half of Northwoods League season with win at Green Bay

For Wausau Pilot & Review

GREEN BAY – The Wausau Woodchucks opened up the second half of the Northwoods League baseball season with an 8-1 win over the Green Bay Rockers on the road Wednesday night.

The win is the third straight for the Woodchucks, who are now 27-8 overall.

It didn’t take long for Wausau to take a 3-0 lead after Bryce Hubbard (Georgia) hit his fourth home run of the season. He has hit a home run in his last two games, and was tied with Max Galvin and Drew Berkland for the team leader.

The Chucks scored another run in the second inning, as Jake Berkland (Mankato St.) came home on an Isaac Webb (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) RBI. The run scored is Berkland’s 26th of the season.

The Chucks looked to Grant Siegel (UCF) to give them a good start. Siegel allowed four hits and one earned run while walking none over the first five innings. Siegel received excellent defense from his infield, who turned an inning ending double-play to escape the fifth.

Wausau added another run in the sixth after two consecutive walks to open the inning. A sac bunt by Christian Smith-Johnson (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) that ended in right field on an error on the pitcher allowed Jonah St. Antoine (Pittsburgh) to score, pushing the lead to 5-1.

Siegel, who has pitched exactly five innings in his last four outings, ended up going seven full innings with just one earned run allowed. Carsen Plumadore came in to pitch the eighth and put up a scoreless half as the Chucks added insurance in the ninth.

Brady Jurgella (Minnesota) made his Woodchucks return tonight as he played for the Chucks in 2023. He singled and had his first RBI on his second hit of the night. He scored on another home run, this time a two-run blast by Galvin (U of Miami). Galvin now stands alone as the Chucks home run leader with five.

With an 8-1 lead, Plumadore finished off the win.

The Chucks wrap up the two-game series at Green Bay with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch on Thursday before returning home for a three-game home stand Friday through Sunday. There will be fireworks following the game on Friday.