LumberKings Clinch First Half Northwest Division Title With 5–1 Win Over Quincy
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Quincy Doggy Paddlers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
|
Clinton LumberKings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 9 | 2 |
CLINTON, Iowa — The Clinton LumberKings (16-7) clinched the Northwest Division First Half title on Monday night with a 5–1 win over the Quincy Doggy Paddlers (8-13) at NelsonCorp Field with an announced attendance of 4,859, locking up a postseason berth and the right to host the Northwest Division Championship game on August 1, 2025.
It marks the fourth time in five years that Clinton has secured a first-half title since joining the Prospect League in 2021 and the first time the club will host the division championship since 2023.
Clinton opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. After Nick Venteicher singled to lead off the inning and eventually moved to second, Jalen Martinez drove him in with a groundout to the catcher in foul territory, giving the LumberKings a 1–0 lead.
Quincy tied the game in the top of the fifth. Wandel Campana led off with a single and later came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Jameson Johnson, making it 1–1.
The LumberKings quickly responded in the bottom half. James Hackett reached on an error and was moved over on a walk and a single. Martinez lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hackett to put Clinton back in front, 2–1. After a walk loaded the bases, Jamie Rasmussen broke the game open with a three-run double to right field, bringing in Austin Mallee, Kaden Frommelt, and Jaylen Ziegler to push the lead to 5–1.
That would be more than enough for the Clinton pitching staff. Brody Meyers (3–0) earned the win, going six innings while allowing just one run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Jackson Horras and Camden Clewett combined for three hitless innings in relief, striking out four and walking three.
Clinton collected nine hits on the night. Venteicher went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. Rasmussen drove in three with his double, while Martinez added two RBIs, both on sacrifice plays.
Patrick Wajda (2–1) took the loss for Quincy, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks over 4.2 innings.
The LumberKings will play Quincy tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. as the Northwest Division 1st Half Champions. Fans can watch the game on prospectleaguenetwork.com or listen for free on wcciradio.com or tune in on 100.3 WCCI-FM.