July 11, 2018 at 12:40 p.m.

Snowhawks stagger to 0-3 start

Lake Tom fell to D&R Bombers, Chicago All-Stars last week
Snowhawks stagger to 0-3 start
Snowhawks stagger to 0-3 start

LAKE TOMAHAWK - After dropping its first official game of the season last Monday, the Lake Tomahawk Snowhawks returned to Snowshoe Park last week for a pair of big games scheduled around the Fourth of July holiday.

While the weather was hot, the Snowhawks bats were not as they fell to 0-3 on the season with a 15-13 loss to D&R Bombers on Monday night and dropped the annual Fourth of July showdown with the Chicago All Stars, 10-7.

Bombers nip Snowhawks

After a subpar hitting performance the previous week, Lake Tomahawk was looking for a reversal of fortunes to pick up its first win of the season on Monday.

The Snowhawks indeed hit the ball better this time around, but just not enough to win the game, despite a valiant comeback attempt.

"We played a very good team tonight," Lake Tomahawk manager Jeff Smith said. "I liked the way we hit. We hit the ball better, we still left a few men on base and had a few innings where we didn't get any runs at all. We have to capitalize on that, but I was pleased overall with how we played defense."

Lake Tomahawk led 2-1 after the first inning thanks to runs by Smith and Derek Young and three hits in the frame.

After keeping the Bombers off the board in the second, it appeared the Snowhawks might blow the game open after registering their first five-run inning of the season.

Nick Mercks, Billy Kuckkahn, Smith and Cole Punches all earned hits to help extend the lead to 7-1.

The Bombers would get right back in the game during the next inning, getting four runs from Mickey Maize, Morgan Maize, Tommy Walsh and Mattie Richard, followed by a five-run inning in the fourth to cut the lead to 11-10.

The next four innings would be all Bombers, however, as the Snowhawks went scoreless in those frames, amassing just six hits during that span.

Meanwhile, the Bombers scored three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth, capped by a two-run home run by Brandon Maize.

Ryan Schowalter and Punches both scored in the bottom of the ninth to cut the deficit to two.

Brent Cella and Todd Neimuth both got hits with one out, but back-to-back chances with the winning run at the plate ended in outs.

Brandon Maize and Mike Maize led the Bombers as both went 3 for 4.

Smith went 3 for 5 at the plate with three runs, while Punches also went 3 for 5.

"The talent's getting better," Smith said. "We're not playing teams that have half a team anymore. We're playing teams that have full teams now and we have to get better. Our guys will have to step up a little bit and get hits."

Chicago All-Stars score six in the ninth to top Snowhawks

It has become a July 4 tradition for the Lake Tomahawk Snowhawks to face the Chicago All-Stars.

Combined with the post-game fireworks, the game is usually the most well-attended outing of the season and the Snowhawks prefer to give the crowd a fun night.

For eight innings, the two teams treated the capacity crowd to a low-scoring, tight game. In the top of the ninth, though, Chicago made its move, breaking a 4-4 tie by scoring six runs in a 10-7 victory to hand Lake Tomahawk its third consecutive loss to begin the season.

"It was a defensive game," Smith said. "Everybody was hitting them right at each other for a while. There were some really nice (defensive) plays, but everything kinda got down to the ninth inning and the team that got the most hits came out ahead."

Many of the players on the Chicago All-Stars also played with the D&R Bombers two days earlier.

The Bombers squeaked out a two-run win over the Snowhawks in the that meeting, so Smith knew his team was going to be in for a tough battle.

"I had a feeling this was going to happen," Smith said. "They're a great hitting ball team and for them to only have 10 runs was a shocker to us, but that's the way it goes. I give them all the credit. They got it done."

Each team scored a run in the first inning, with Chicago getting some breathing room thanks to runs by Tommy Walsh and Richie Ballistoni to take a 3-1 lead.

Chicago would take a 4-1 lead in the fifth as Ryan Maize scored after tripling to lead off the frame.

The Snowhawks would battle back, however, as Young and Punches recorded back-to-back hits to start the sixth inning and both eventually came around to score to cut the lead to one before Punches tied the game in the eighth.

Chicago came alive in the final inning and began to place balls in the open spots in the field.

Six of the first seven batters in the inning reached base safely and eventually scored, as Chicago registered six hits and a walk to take a commanding 10-4 lead.

Mattie Richard, Bob Maize, Brandon Maize, Ryan Maize, Ballistoni and Matt Maize all earned hits for Chicago.

With one final chance to tie the game or take the lead in the bottom of the ninth, the Snowhawks put up a valiant fight.

Ryan Schowalter and Young both scored on a hit by Punches, before Cella cleared the bases with a towering shot that earned him a triple.

Neimuth stepped to the plate next but ultimately grounded out to the short stop to end the game.

"It was an exciting game, it was a serious game, although we did have a lot of fun," Smith said. "It was a nice night. I'm glad we got it in. With the threat of rain, I didn't know it was going to happen."

Smith and Punches both went 4 for 5 at the plate, while Cella was 3 for 5 in the game for Lake Tomahawk.

Despite the loss, Smith was happy to give the fans an entertaining evening on the field.

"That's all we wanted to do," Smith said. "Whether it's 25-22 or 10-7, the crowd stayed around. They saw a good ballgame and that's all we want to do. We want to have a good game and put two good teams out there. It was fun."

Lake Tomahawk (0-3) hosted Zimmy's All-Stars on Monday.

Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @NickSabatoLT.

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