By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
ASHWAUBENON — The Green Bay Booyah pitching trio of Jack Dyke, Logan Lee and Connor Spear looked unstoppable at times Wednesday night.
The three combined for 16 strikeouts and no earned runs in 4-0 Northwoods League victory over Rockford at Capital Credit Union Park.
With the win, the Booyah clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2015 and will head to Fond du Lac Friday, Aug. 21, to face the Dock Spiders.
“I was trusting my catcher Steve (Hrustich) tonight,” said Lee. “He was calling a great game, and my fastball was on. All of us had good pitches. We needed the win.”
Dyke went the first three innings with five strikeouts followed by Lee’s nine on one hit in 4 2/3 innings.
Spear came recorded four outs to close the game.
Andy Blake and Cam Tilly both went 2-for-4 on the night.
Green Bay jumped out of the gates quickly.
In the bottom of the first inning, Nadir Lewis walked, and it was followed by a Blake single to left.
After a groundout and pop out, Tilly hit a single to center, which brought Lewis and Blake home for a 2-0 lead.
The Rivets had their best opportunities in the latter part of the game.
In the top of the sixth inning, with two outs, Sam Beers walked.
Colton Klein then laid down a perfect bunt down the third-base line.
A throwing error advanced the runners to second and third.
It was short-lived, however, as Lee struck out Johannes Haakenson to end the inning.
The Booyah added to their margin in the bottom of the seventh.
With one out, Ty Olejnik walked and then Nick Santoro was hit by a pitch.
After a force out at second, Green Bay executed a perfect double steal to score Olejnik for a 3-0 advantage.
Blake doubled to right field, scoring Lewis for a 4-0 lead.
Green Bay shut the door on Rockford in the top of the eighth when Spear got Phil Hyland out with a pop up after the bases were loaded.
The Booyah have one final home game tonight, Aug. 20, when they host the Rivets at Capital Credit Union Park beginning at 6:35 p.m.
“We want to carry momentum into the playoffs by winning Thursday,” added Lee. “Fondy is a good hitting team, but we have the pitchers to hold them at bay. I have complete faith in our team moving forward.”
Box score
Rockford: 000 000 000—0
Green Bay: 200 000 20x—4