Rochester 4 – Eau Claire 3

In an up and down game at Eau Claire tonight the Honkers got a pair of early runs and then a pair of inspiring performances in the final frames to take a 4-3 victory over the Express. Rance Roundy (UNLV) drove in the winning run in the ninth just moments after making a spectacular diving catch to end an Eau Claire threat in the eighth while Aaron Dunsmore pitched through the eighth for Rochester after a lineup card mistake by manager Rusty McNamara forced him to pitch with no warning or warmup. Rochester is now 5-5 while Eau Claire took only their second loss to fall to 8-2. In the eighth inning when Rochester tried to bring in Matt Mullendore (Hamline) out of the bullpen. Mullendore was removed from the mound before throwing a pitch when it was discovered that the Honkers had failed to list him on the initial lineup card at the start of the game and he was thus not eligible to play. Manager Rusty McNamara turned to Aaron Dunsmore (Dayton), who is typically an outfielder, to throw the inning with no warning or time to warm up beyond the handful of pitches he took on the game mound before the inning officially started. He walked two batters, but also picked up a strikeout in working through the inning without allowing a run. He wouldn’t have made it through, however, without the help of Roundy who made an excellent diving catch to end the inning. Roundy then came up in the ninth with Aaron Johnson (Illinois) on third, and delivered a RBI single to give Rochester the 4-3 lead. Arik Sikula (Marshall) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn a save while the win went to Dunsmore. The loss was charged Ian Campbell (Yavapai).

Alexandria 3 – La Crosse 2 (10 Inn.)

Mike O’Neill (USC) launched a solo homerun with two out in the tenth inning and Aaron Kurcz (Air Force) picked up his fifth save in five tries as the Beetles escaped La Crosse with a 3-2 win and split of the two-game series. Erik Johnson (Cal) started for Alexandria and threw well, tossing six innings of shutout ball and allowing only four hits, three of which never left the infield. The Loggers were held off the scoreboard until the eighth inning, when Kevin Vangheluwe (Michigan) ran into trouble.  Vangheluwe left with the bases loaded and was relieved by Conner, who gave up an RBI fielder’s choice and RBI single, before getting a groundout to end the threat. Both clubs went down quickly in the ninth and play went into the tenth inning. The inning began with a KJ Randhawa (Air Force) single.  But Mikel Alvarez (FGCU) drew a bit of tough luck in the next at-bat, pulling back a bunt attempt and hitting a line-shot at the third baseman.  Randhawa was then doubled off first base. The inning looked bleak until O’Neill stepped to the plate, drilling a pitch over the right-center field wall. Closer Aaron Kurcz (Air Force) immediately warmed up in the bullpen, and entered to close the game. After getting the first two outs with ease, Kurcz walked the next batter on a 3-2 pitch.  Then, with another two-strike count, Morgan Mickan hit a double to the right-center field gap. But calmly, Kurcz would settle down, getting the last batter to swing through a fastball. The win snaps the Beetles’ three game losing streak and pushes the team into a three-way tie for first in the North Division with Duluth and Mankato.

Green Bay 4 – Wisconsin 1

Chuck Lukanen and Sam Munson lead the Green Bay Bullfrogs to a 4-1 win over the Wisconsin Woodchucks on a cold and soggy night at Jones Sign Field at Joannes Stadium. Lukanen (Northern Illinois) was solid on the mound for the Bullfrogs during his seven innings of work giving up only two hits. He also struck out four and walked three to earn his second victory of the season. While Lukanen was shutting down the Wisconsin offense, Green Bay (5-5) responded by tacking on four runs in the sixth frame. A trio of singles and a double provided enough of an offensive punch to get by on the sloppy field conditions. Munson (Walters State CC) led Green Bay going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, including a key RBI during its four-run inning. Chris Schaeffer (North Carolina State) also chipped in during the run, with his only hit of the night, a two-RBI single.