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Lakeshore Chinooks

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Lakeshore Chinooks
Team Logo
Information
LeagueNorthwoods League (South Division 2012–2018)
(Great Lakes West 2019–present)
LocationMequon, Wisconsin, U.S.
BallparkKapco Park
Founded2012
League championships1 (2014)
Division championships1 (2014)
ColorsLake blue, black, silver, white
       
Ownership
ManagerTrevor Cho
General ManagerEric Snodgrass
MediaMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
WebsiteLakeshoreChinooks.com

The Lakeshore Chinooks are a baseball team based in Mequon, Wisconsin, United States and a member of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The Chinooks play their home games at Kapco Park on the campus of Concordia University Wisconsin.

History

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The Lakeshore Chinooks became the seventh Northwoods League team in Wisconsin. Based at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, a northern suburb of Milwaukee, the Chinooks were the first Northwoods League franchise to make its home in a major metropolitan area.

Launch marketing featured Robin Yount in a series of television spots and included a guest appearance by Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin.[citation needed]

The inaugural season began May 30, 2012, with a 2-1 road victory over the Green Bay Bullfrogs. The home opener was June 11, a 6-5 win over the Battle Creek Bombers.[1]

On May 30, 2013, the Chinooks held their home opener, where Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig threw the first pitch to Major League Baseball Hall of Fame member and Chinooks minority owner Robin Yount. The Chinooks won their division, capturing their first playoff berth. They were defeated in the first round by the Madison Mallards two games to one.[2]

In 2014, the Chinooks became just the third team in league history to accumulate 50 victories, winning the organization's third-straight South Division half title.[citation needed] The team swept the Wisconsin Woodchucks two games to none in the division playoff to advance to the franchise's first championship appearance. Against the North Division champion Mankato MoonDogs, the Chinooks won the first game of the series in Mankato, 5–4, before returning to Mequon and completing their undefeated run through the playoffs with a 3–0 victory in game two to clinch the franchise's first-ever league championship.[3]

On July 4, 2015, first baseman Luke Raley became the first player in league history to hit four home runs in a single game.[4]

On July 3, 2017, shortstop Owen Miller hit for the cycle in a game against the Kalamazoo Growlers. Two days later, he hit for another cycle against Rockford Rivets, becoming the first player in league history to hit for multiple cycles.[4]

On June 15, 2020, the Chinooks announced that they would not be participating in the first two weeks of the modified 2020 season amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Two weeks later, the team cancelled their season altogether.[6] The team returned to play in 2021.

Season-by-season records

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[7]

Table key
League The team's final position in the league standings
Division The team's final position in the divisional standings
GB Games behind the division's first place team
League champions
* Division champions
^ Postseason berth
Season-by-season records
Season Regular season Postseason
Division Record Win % League Division GB Record Win % Result
2012 South 35–35 .500 7th 4th 14
2013
* ^
44–26 .629 2nd 1st 1–2 .333 Won second half South Division title
Lost division playoffs vs. Madison Mallards 1–2
2014
^ * †
50–21 .704 1st 1st 4–0 1.000 Won first and second half South Division title
Won division playoffs vs. Wisconsin Woodchucks 2–0
Won championship vs. Mankato MoonDogs 2–0
2015 36–36 .500 9th 5th 12
2016
*
35–37 .486 10th 4th 14 0–1 .000 Lost quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 0–1
2017
*
38–34 .528 9th 4th 14 0–1 .000 Lost quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 0–1
2018 29–42 .408 15th 8th 19+12
2019 Great Lakes West 32–40 .444 17th 6th 14
2020 Did not play (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021 Great Lakes West 31–39 .443 13th 5th 12
2022 36–36 .500 12th 4th 21
2023 27–44 .380 20th 6th 13+12
Totals 393–390 .501 5–4 .556

Ballpark

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In 2011, Kapco Inc., a metal fabrication and stamping company in Grafton, donated $1 million toward completion of Concordia University Wisconsin's new baseball field, named Kapco Park. The donation was part of a $2.7 million fund already allocated for the stadium. Concordia's baseball team uses Kapco Park in the spring.[8]

The Chinooks were the first Northwoods League franchise to make its home on a university campus. Kapco Park acknowledges the Milwaukee Brewers with its outfield dimensions; 317 feet in left for Jim Gantner (who wore number 17), 344 to left-center for Hank Aaron (who wore number 44), 404 to center for Paul Molitor (who wore number 4) and 319 to right for Robin Yount (who wore number 19), the latter of whom helped design the fence.[9]

In 2012, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) moved the State High School summer baseball tournament to Kapco Park until the tournament ended in 2018.[10]

Kapco Park hosted the 2014 Northwoods League All-Star Game on July 22, 2014.[11]

Ownership

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The Chinooks' ownership group consists of twelve investors; most notably Jim Kacmarcik, president of Kapco, Milwaukee Brewers play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker, and Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Yount.[12][13][14]

Awards

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League awards

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Year Player Award
2014 Mark Moriarty Coach of the Year
Eddy Morgan Manager of the Year
2016 Marshall Kasowski Pitcher of the Year

Postseason All-Stars

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Year Player Pos. College
2012 Ryan Harris P Texas Tech
Eric Aguilera DH Illinois State
Bre Kimball 3B Louisiana Tech
2013 Mitch Sewald P LSU
Kyle Bouman P Jefferson College (MO)
2014 Lake Tuttle P Milwaukee
Andrew Elliot P Wright State
Brett Siddall OF Canisius
2015 Lake Bachar P Wisconsin–Whitewater
Lucas Raley OF Lake Erie
2016 Marshall Kasowski P Houston
2017 Jacob Richardson 3B Southern Arkansas
Matthew Mikea 2B UCF
2018 Jack Dunn SS Northwestern
Dallas Beaver C UCF
2019 Daryl Myers SS Benedictine
2022 Mitch Mueller P Parkland College
Matt DePrev C Xavier

Notable MLB alumni

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Player Chinooks

season

Draft MLB season(s)
Year Rd Pick Team
Zack Granite 2012 2013 14 410 MIN 2017
Brian Anderson 2012 2014 3 76 MIA 2017–present
Alex Young 2013 2015 2 43 ARI 2019–present
Andrew Stevenson 2013 2015 2 58 WAS 2017–2021, 2023
Harrison Bader 2013 2015 3 100 STL 2017–present
Eric Hanhold 2013 2015 6 181 MIL 2018, 2021
Shaun Anderson 2014 2016 3 88 BOS 2019–present
Cam Vieaux 2014 2016 6 195 PIT 2022
Jake Noll 2014 2016 7 214 WAS 2019–2020
Luke Raley 2015 2016 7 221 LAD 2021–present
Jesse Scholtens 2015 2016 9 264 SD 2023
Greg Deichmann 2015 2017 2 43 OAK 2021
Zac Lowther 2015 2017 2 74 BAL 2021–2022
Mark Kolozsvary 2015 2017 7 197 CIN 2022–2023
Owen Miller 2016–2017 2018 3 84 SD 2021–present
Alec Marsh 2017 2019 B 70 KC 2023–present
Will Klein 2019 2020 5 135 KC 2024–present
Grant Hartwig 2019 undrafted, 2021 2023–present
Hayden Birdsong 2022 2022 6 196 SF 2024–present

References

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  1. ^ "2012 Overall Standings, South Division".
  2. ^ "Mallards Win Second Northwoods League Title". Northwoods League. August 16, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  3. ^ "Lakeshore wins first franchise championship". August 16, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "2023 Notable Records" (PDF). Northwoods League. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  5. ^ "Update on the 2020 Season - June 15th". Lakeshore Chinooks. June 15, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Maas, Tyler (June 29, 2020). "Lakeshore Chinooks cancel 2020 season". Milwaukee Record. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "Northwoods League Archive Standings". Northwoods League.
  8. ^ "Concordia gets a $1 million donation, and a baseball team".
  9. ^ "Chinooks' first season is home run".
  10. ^ "New summer tournament site wins praise".
  11. ^ Bomberg, Matt (March 3, 2014). "Northwoods League All-Star Tickets On Sale". Northwoods League. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  12. ^ "Concordia gets a $1 million donation, and a baseball team".
  13. ^ "Lakeshore Chinooks set to join Northwoods League for 2012". November 2011.
  14. ^ "Northwoods League - Get Ready for the Show!".
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