Published On: July 20th, 2014

Willmar swept Eau Claire, and Lakeshore did the same to La Crosse on Saturday night in Northwoods League Action. Thunder Bay and Rochester also combined for 27 runs in an offensive slugfest that lasted 13 innings and saw the Honkers come out on top. 

Willmar 13, Eau Claire 5 (Game 1)

A four-run ninth from Eau Claire made it close but Willmar easily ran away with a 13-5 win. Three different Stingers went deep, with Nick Rivera (FGCU) hitting a home run on a two-hit, three-RBI night. Brian Pruett (FGCU), Casey Hughston (Alabama) and Jack Ross (Pepperdine) all added a pair of RBIs as the Stingers racked up 16 hits. Pruett and Hutton Moyer (Pepperdine) both added home runs, while Garrett Anderson (FGCU) went 7 1/3 innings of one run ball in relief to pick up his second save.

Lakeshore 5, La Crosse 4 (13 innings)

In a continued game, Lakeshore walked off in the bottom of the 13th to down the Loggers, 5-4. The 13th inning was the only inning played today. The Chinooks out-hit La Crosse 13-9 but left a shocking 18 runners on base before finally pushing across the game-winner. Luke Meeteer (UW-Milwaukee) hit a RBI single to pick up the walkoff victory. It was one of three hits for Meeteer on the night, while Zack Bowers (Georgia) added a solo home run and three walks. Reliever Sterling Koerner (FGCU) went three shutout innings and gave up just three hits to pick up the save.

Waterloo 8, Mankato 5

A six-run seventh carried Waterloo over Mankato, 8-5. Dane Dunning (Florida) went seven strong innings for his third win and Adam Dian (Pitt) picked up his 13th save in his 20th appearance out of the bullpen. Pat MacKenzie (Central Michigan) drove in three runs out of the leadoff spot for the Bucks, while Will Sparks (Washington) aded a pair of RBIs. 

Kalamazoo 3, Battle Creek 0

Kalamazoo blanked the Bombers, 3-0, behind a dominant performance from NWL Pitcher of the Night Ryan Smoyer (Notre Dame). Smoyer went seven and a third shutout innings and struck out four while allowing just three hits and issuing a lone walk. He improved to a perfect 6-0 on the season as reliever Joshua Buchalski (Michigan St) gave up one hit down the stretch for his second save. All three of the Growlers runs came on a three-run home run from Karl Sorensen (St. Cloud St). 

Rochester 15, Thunder Bay 12 (13 innings)

The Honkers struck for three runs in the top of the 13th to pull away from Thunder Bay and take the slugfest in extra innings. Five different Rochester hitters scored twice as Jordan Smith (Minnesota) hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to pull ahead, and Ryan Boldt (Nebraska) added another RBI single to carry the Honkers to the win. Cory Kay (Missouri St) drove in three runs for the Border Cats, but they couldn't get anything off of Rochester reliever Carl Jameson (Missouri Baptist). Jameson picked up the win with three perfect innings to close it out. 

Wisconsin 5, Wisconsin Rapids 4

In a matchup of Wisconsin teams, the Woodchucks came out on top, 5-4. Wisconsin fought off a two-run rally from the Rafters in the bottom of the ninth to escape with the narrow victory. Austin Tribby (Missouri) picked up the win in relief while closer Max Ising (Creighton) came away with a save, his 11th, despite allowing two earned runs to cross. Brendon Hayden (Virginia Tech) and Ryan Howard (Missouri) both drove in a pair of runs for the Woodchucks, with Hayden's coming on a two-run shot in the first.

Kenosha 11, Madison 4

A big seven-run fifth carried Kenosha to a resounding 11-4 win as they picked up 13 hits and overcame three errors. The contest was a back-and-forth affair until the Kingfish erupted as they sent 12 batters to the plate and faced three different Madison pitchers. Paul Schuster (SIUE) went four shutout innings down the stretch and had more the enough of a lead to work with to pick up the save. Pat Porter (Ohio St) and Steven Sensley (LSU-Enice) both drove in two runs while Zack Kolakowski added three RBIs and a triple.

St. Cloud 8, Green Bay 3

Austin Caspersen (Doane) threw a qaulity start as the Rox snapped a five-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over Green Bay. The fifth straight loss for the Bullfrogs was highlighted by the fact that they snapped a 22-inning scoreless streak. Caspersen gave up two earned runs on six hits over six innings while Morgan Phillips (Charleston Col) hit a three-run home run for St. Cloud. Chris Paul (California) added a solo home run for the Rox. 

Alexandria 6, Duluth 5

A four-run first put Alexandria up for good as they downed Duluth, 6-5. Alexandria picked up 12 hits and Spencer Koopmans (Cal-Davis) went five innings and gave up just two earned runs while striking out two for his second win in a row. Dalton Leuschke (North Dakota) hit a home run and drove in three while teammate Jordan Lee (Texas Corpus Christi) scored twice and added a pair of RBIs on a home run. Jason Zgardowski (Angelo St) went two shutout innings for his first save of the season. 

Lakeshore 12, La Crosse 4

NWL Player of the Night Brett Siddall (Canisius) drove in four runs to carry Lakeshore to a convincing 12-4 win over the Loggers. The Chinooks scored all their runs in two innings- seven in the sixth and five in the second. Siddall added a home run and teammate Michael Morman (Valparaiso) drove in three runs fr the Chinooks. Evan Kruczynski (East Carolina) went seven shutout innings and struck out three while not issuing a walk for his fourth win. 

Willmar 9, Eau Claire 6 (Game 2, 7 innings)

Three multi-run innnings carried Willmar to a 9-6 win over Eau Claire in the second game of a double-header. In a shortened seven inning game, the Stingers scored four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Casey Hughston (Alabama) drove in three runs to bring his total to five on the night. Brantley Claunch (North Alabama) gave up just one run over four innings in relief to pick up the win. 

Sunday's Schedule:
Duluth at Alexandria (1:05)
Eau Claire at Willmar (3:05)
Mankato at Waterloo (3:35)
Green Bay at St. Cloud (5:05)
Rochester at Thunder Bay (5:05)
Wisconsin Rapids at Wisconsin (5:05)
Madison at Kenosha (5:05)
Battle Creek at Kalamazoo (5:05)
Eau Claire at Willmar (6:06)

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