St. Cloud 9 – Brainerd 8
Brian Humphries (Pepperdine) lined a single over the head of Will Piwnica-Worms (Duke) in the ninth to secure a 9-8 come-from-behind win over the Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers in front of 1,902 fans at Joe Faber Field. With the win, the team’s fifth straight, the Bats remain percentage points ahead of Rochester, which defeated Mankato 2-1 at Mayo Field. The Bats trailed 6-0 heading into the last half of the fifth inning, before chipping away with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single from Matt Summer (UC Irvine) and an RBI fielder’s choice from Zac Richard (Xavier). St. Cloud plated two more in the sixth on an RBI double from Jonathan Roof (Michigan State) double and a Danny Oh (Cal-Berkeley) RBI single. Matt Fanelli (Washington State) homered in the seventh inning to make it a one-run game, before a Piwnica-Worms two-run inside-the-park home run made it 8-5 heading into the last of the ninth. With closer Drew Smith (Barton C.C.) aiming for his 13th save, the Bats loaded the bases with one down following a Summers walk, Richard single and Fanelli walk. Dan Betteridge (Rutgers) and Kurt Schlangen (Minnesota) singled in runs before Humphries provided the heroics. Pedro Ramos (Glendale C.C.) started for the Bats and got the no decision, allowing five earned runs on five hits over 4.2 innings. Barry Rooks (Florida Atlantic) provided 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Connor Lambert (Washington State) earned the win, despite allowing two runs on two hits in the ninth.
Thunder Bay 5 – La Crosse 4
David Phillips (Ole Miss) delivered a two out pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth inning as Thunder Bay beat Lacrosse 5-4 ending the Border Cats three game losing streak. Phillips clutch hit scored Walker Moore (Cal St. Fullerton) from third base. Moore had walked leading off the ninth off Loggers reliever Madison Boer (Oregon), who took the loss to fall to 2-2. Lacrosse had taken a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Cody Burleson (Nebraska), his second of the season. The Border Cats took advantage of two Lacrosse throwing errors to tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Austin Knight (Dallas Baptist) went 3-5 with a run scored as the Loggers fell to 11-7. Adam Courcha (New Mexico) was 1-3 with an RBI double and a run scored as Thunder Bay improved to 8-10. Drew Erwin (Nicholls State) pitched two innings to pick up the win upping his record to 1-2. Steven Gruver (Tennessee) failed to pick up his sixth win for the Loggers. Gruver allowed three runs in three innings, but did not return to the mound for the fourth following a one hour and 20 minute rain delay.
Rochester 2 – Mankato 1 (12 Inn.)
Drew Beuerlein (UNLV) only had one hit, but he emerged the hero for the Honkers as his bloop single in the bottom of the 12th with two outs scored Rance Roundy (UNLV) to give Rochester a 2-1 walkoff win. The Rochester pitching staff held the MoonDogs to just three hits over the course of the night, and Roundy accounted for the Honkers’ other run with a solo homer in the fourth. Rochester is now 13-6 with the win, while Mankato fell to 9-10. The win also clinched the season series against Mankato for the Honkers, five games to three. Both Drew Gagnon (Long Beach State) for Rochester and Ryan Demmin (Wisconsin Oshkosh) were dealing early in the game, but the MoonDogs would jump on the board first in the fourth inning when Cody Fick (Evansville) crushed a solo home run to center to give Mankato a 1-0 lead. It was the first hit that Mankato managed in the game, and they wouldn’t get another until a ninth inning single. The lead didn’t last long though, as Roundy evened things up by going deep to left to lead off the bottom of the fourth and make the score 1-1. Both starters would last just five innings, turning in almost identical lines and neither getting a decision. Gagnon allowed one hit and one run with one walk, five strikeouts and a home run. Demmin also allowed one run with one walk, five strikeouts and a home run, but he allowed five hits over his five innings on the mound. The score would stay 1-1 all the way until the 12th, as both bullpens matched scoreless frames into the night. Jay Johnson (Prairie Baseball Academy), Scott McGough (Oregon) and Arik Sikula (Marshall) all pitched very well for Rochester, while Chris Garrison (Oregon) tossed four innings of relief allowing just one hit with four strikeouts for the MoonDogs. But the Honkers would eventually get to John Brebbia (Elon), who came on in the tenth for Mankato. After stranding two runners in the tenth, Rochester got a two-out single from Roundy in the eleventh. He moved to second on an errant pick-off throw, and John Tommasini (Oregon State) worked a walk to bring Beuerlein to the plate. It didn’t take him long, as the catcher lifted the third pitch he saw just beyond the reach of the infield into shallow left-center to score Roundy and end the game. Sikula got the win for the Honkers to move to 3-1 on the year with two shutout innings of relief in which he allowed only a single hit, while the loss fell to Brebbia to send him to 1-3 on the year. Roundy and Corey Jones (Cal State Fullerotn) each managed three hits for the Honkers, but Beuerlein’s single base knock was the biggest for Rochester. Roundy scored both runs for the Honkers.
Eau Claire 3 – Green Bay 1
Riley Henricks hit home run and Chuck Lukanen took a no-hitter into the sixth inning for Green Bay, but it was Tyler Bremer who highlighted the evening. The Eau Claire starter went eight strong innings in a 3-1 victory and a series sweep on Friday night at Jones Sign Field inside Joannes Stadium. Henricks (Portland) drove a fastball off the Leinies Fan Deck railing in right field, but it bounced back onto the playing field. Nobody in the park was quite sure if it was a homer or not, until an umpire’s signal gave Green Bay a 1-0 lead at the time. Meanwhile, Lukanen (Northern Illinois) was working his was to history until the sixth frame. He gave up a leadoff single, before a pair of costly errors allowed Eau Claire (7-12, 28-21) to plate two and claim the lead for the good. The Express front-runner, Bremer (UC-Davis), quietly went about his business and tossed eight innings of four-hit ball to earn the victory. He struck out three and scattered four hits, while on the bump. The loss was the second series sweep for the Eau Claire and fifth-consecutive win this season over Green Bay (6-12, 20-31). The two squads will battle three more times this year, all in Eau Claire. Kole Calhoun (Arizona State), Andrew Leonard (UIC), and Aaron Fujiki (Yavapai) each recorded a hit for the Express during the contest. Nolan Fadness (UW-Oshkosh) and Fujiki added a stolen base. Joel Hutter (Des Moines Area CC) led the Bullfrogs with a 2-for-4 performance and a stolen base. Aaron Conway (Missouri State) increased his league leading steal total to 28 in the third inning. Lukanen was tagged with the loss after giving up two unearned runs in the sixth inning. He struck out two, walked five, and scattered two hits on the bump. Henricks homer in the second inning was his fifth of the season. Calhoun began the scoring for the Express in the sixth inning with a single through the right side. Leonard reached base on a throwing error to put runners at first and second. Green Bay’s Sam VandenHeuvel (Rhode Island) committed his second error in the frame, which allowed Eau Claire to score twice and take a 2-1 lead. The Express stapled an insurance run on the board in the eighth, when Fujiki hit a RBI single to score Matt Fritz (Bradley) from first base.
Alexandria 3 – Duluth 0
The Duluth Huskies (7-12) lost to the Alexandria Beetles (9-8) by a final score of 3-0. The Huskies were shutdown by Alexandria’s starting pitcher Erik Johnson (Cal-Berkeley) who threw 7 innings giving up 0 runs on 6 hits. Chase Porch (North Alabama) who hit a Home Run down the left field line led the Beetles bats. Huskie stating pitcher Sean Yost (Nebraska) went 6 and 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs (2ER) on 4 hits. Matt Harrison (UNC) went 2 for 3 on the night, and Doug Joyce (Florida Intl) hit a double off the center field wall. The Huskies had bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 6th inning but couldn’t get a run across the plate.
Battle Creek 3 – Waterloo 1
A two-out rally in the seventh lifted the Battle Creek Bombers over the Waterloo Bucks tonight, the final score 3-1. With nobody on and two outs, it seemed like the seventh would be another quick inning. But back-to-back-to-back singles, capped off with an RBI single to right by Mike Murphy (Arizona State), gave the Bombers their first lead of the night. They would extend the lead with a run in the eighth, and hold on for their fifth victory over the Waterloo Bucks this season. The Bucks jumped out to an early lead for the second night in a row, scoring a run in the second inning on two singles and a walk. But that was the only run that the Bombers would allow, scattering five hits and a walk over the next seven innings. The Bucks would threaten again in the eighth, putting runners on the corners with two outs. However, reliever Tim Mowry (Western Michigan) would strike out the next batter to keep the lead intact. In the bottom of the eighth, the Bombers would work another runner across the plate to give them a 3-1 lead. Chris Lewis (Western Michigan) led the inning off with a single to left. After first baseman Josh Valle (Marshall) was hit by a pitch, Jimmy Tanner (USC-Upstate) moved both men into scoring position with his second sacrifice bunt of the game. The next batter, Joe Van Meter (VCU), hit an RBI single up the middle, scoring Lewis from third. It was the second time that he brought Lewis around to score, hitting a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning when Lewis was on third. In the bottom of the ninth the Bombers brought in closer R.J. Hively (Cal State Fullerton), who recorded two strikeouts and picked up his tenth save of the season. Hively continues to shut the opposition down, and has struck out 38 batters in 27 innings of work.
Wisconsin vs Madison (Canceled)
Friday night’s contest between the Madison Mallards and Wisconsin Woodchucks was cancelled due to inclement weather after lightning in the area prevented play from continuing at the “Duck Pond” with the Mallards leading 2-0 in the second inning.
(Photo:Dave Schwarz; dschwarz@stcloudtimes.com)
