For the Wausau Times

WAUSAU – Tied 3-3 in the ninth inning, there was only one question to be answered at Athletic Park on June 2 – who was going to be the hero?

Brandon Trammell answered the call with a two-run, walk-off home run over the left field fence, clinching a 5-3 Wisconsin Woodchucks win in style against the Madison Mallards. 

But it took persistence to reach that sequence.  

An evening after drawing 19 walks against Wisconsin Rapids, the Woodchucks’ patience at the plate was once again on display Wednesday, taking 11 free passes against the Mallards’ pitchers. While Wisconsin didn’t score until the fifth inning, the lineup’s eye discipline paid off.

That’s because the Chucks ended Mallard’s starting pitcher Ernie Day’s outing after just four and 1/3 frames on 92 pitches. Then, facing reliever Jonathan Zacharias in the fifth, the Woodchucks scored twice to tie the game, once on a Macgregor bases loaded walk and another on a Louie Albrecht fielder’s choice.

The home team took its first lead of the night when Kevin Kilpatrick scored from third base on a wild pitch to make it 3-2.

Madison scored first on a 2nd inning, one-out double to right field. The Chucks put seven runners on base in the first four innings, but the Mallards scored again on an infield single in the fifth before Wisconsin found the scoreboard.

The Mallards tied the contest in the eighth on a sacrifice fly.

Chandler Poell’s shutout ninth frame preserved the tie game, setting up Trammell’s game-winning homer. 

Trammell was 2-3 with two walks and a walk-off home run, two-run home run. 

Starting Pitcher Bobby Vath threw six frames, allowing 10 hits but just two runs. He struck out six Madison batters while walking none.

Tyler Kehoe went 2-4 with a walk.