The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters picked up a series sweep of the Kenosha Kingfish and Battle Creek lost their second straight to put Rapids 9 games ahead of the Bombers. Madison has now won two in a row and Rockford won their third to round out the top four in the overall standings. Mankato and St. Cloud both picked up shutouts tonight as they are separated by a half game and the Bucks are only a game back from the MoonDogs after winning their second straight.
Wisconsin 2, Madison 13
The Madison Mallards broke a tie in the bottom of the third and never looked back as they defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks 13-2. The Chucks got on the board first in the top half of the opening inning from a single by Tristan Clarke (New Orleans) which drove in a run. Zac Taylor (Illinois) put Madison ahead with a two-run shot in the bottom half. Wisconsin tied the game from a pass ball that scored James Davison (Miami), but the Mallards responded in the bottom half. Madison scored a pair from two sac flyouts. Madison put another up in the fourth from a single and an error. The Mallards then broke the game open for eight runs in the fifth. Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (California) started things with an RBI single and he later scored from a three-run shot by Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville). That inning was the deciding factor as the Mallards’ bullpen threw four innings of scoreless baseball to secure the win.
Battle Creek 0, Fond du Lac 9
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders got a complete game shutout from starter Zack Kesterson (Arkansas Tech) in a 9-0 victory over the Battle Creek Bombers. Fondy got on the board in the second with five runs which started from a two-run double by Collin Ridout (Tennessee Wesleyan). He then scored the fourth run from a single and an RBI triple followed. Thomas Luevano (Creighton) started a three-run third inning with a two-RBI single. Luevano then scored on a one-out single in the eighth which would go on to be the final score. Kesterson’s final line was five hits, no walks and six strikeouts as he won his fifth game of the season.
Thunder Bay 3, Waterloo 4
The Waterloo Bucks held off a late surge from the Thunder Bay Border Cats as they went on to win 4-3. Thunder Bay scored a pair of runs right away in the opening inning from runs by Andy Weber (Virginia) and Brendan Dougherty (Bradley). Waterloo got one back in the second when Zach Malis (Grand Canyon) double in a run. The Bucks then tied it in the third from a Drew Greenwood (Bellarmine) RBI ground out. Waterloo tacked on two more insurance runs in the fourth from a single by Jake Viaene (Southern Miss.), but Thunder Bay wasn’t done. Kevin Biondic (Maryland) bounced into a fielder’s choice in the seventh which scored a run to come within one. The Bucks then threw three relief pitchers for the final two innings to secure the one-run victory.
Eau Claire 13, Bismarck 4
The Eau Claire Express jumped on the Bismarck Larks right away in the second and never looked back as they won 13-4. The Express got their first run in the second from Robby Campillo (New Mexico) scoring on an error and Daytona Bryden (UW-Whitewater) singling in a run. Bryden then scored and the fourth run came from an RBI single. Bismarck came within one in the fourth which started from a sac flyout and a two-run single by Cooper Coldiron (Houston). Eau Claire added one in the fifth from a sac fly and two more in the sixth from a single. Four more came for the Express in the seventh which included a two-run home run by Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist). Bismarck got one more in the bottom half from an RBI ground out, but Eau Claire added two more in the top of the ninth. The Express put two Larks on in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but the next batter grounded out to end the game.
Mankato 6, Duluth 0
The Mankato MoonDogs used two pitchers to shutout the Duluth Huskies 6-0 today. Mankato got on the board in the third when Daniel Amaral (UCLA) singled in an unearned run. Kyle Cuellar (UCLA) then doubled in another and scored on a sac flyout. Andrew Fisher (Illinois) got the start for the MoonDogs and threw eight scoreless on six hits and three walks while striking out five. Mankato got one in the seventh from a bases loaded walk, a wild pitch in the eighth and an RBI single in the ninth from Ethan Valdez (Nicholls State). Matt Young (Nevada Reno) then came in for relief and retired the side in-order to secure the Mankato win.
Green Bay 3, Kalamazoo 10
The Kalamazoo Growlers used a big fifth inning to pull away from the Green Bay Bullfrogs and win 10-3. The Growlers scored first in the second inning when Jason Sullivan (Central Michigan) came home on a wild pitch. The Frogs tied it in the top of the third from a solo shot by Zack Plunkett (Arkansas). Kalamazoo went up two in the fourth with a pair of run from an RBI single and a sac flyout. The Bullfrogs tied it in the fifth from a two-run single by Mikey Filia (UC Irvine). Kalamazoo then went ahead by five in the bottom half which included a bases clearing double by Ivan Estrella (Texas Rio Grande). The Growlers got another in the sixth and one more in the seventh as that would end up being the final score.
Lakeshore 5, Rockford 9
The Rockford Rivets scored right away in the opening inning and never looked back as they defeated the Lakeshore Chinooks 9-5. The Rivets’ five-run first was fueled by a grand slam from Zach Rheams (Texas Tech). The Chinooks responded to get two back in the third as Rylan Thomas (Central Florida) hit an RBI double and scored on the next at bat. The Rivets got three more in the sixth which started from an RBI double by Zach Watson (LSU) as he later scored from an RBI single. Lakeshore then got three in the seventh from a leadoff home run by Connor Kimple (Oklahoma State) and a two-run dinger by Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State). The Rivets got another in the eighth from a wild pitch and shutdown the Chinooks in the ninth in-order to win the game.
Rochester 0, St. Cloud 7
The St. Cloud Rox threw three pitchers in a 7-0 shutout victory over the Rochester Honkers. The Rox got their first four in the third which started from a sac flyout and then a bases clearing double by Shane Selman (McNeese State). Robbie Palkert (Nebraska) got the start for the Rox and pitched five scoreless on just three hits and one walks while striking out four. Michael Busch (UNC) added two more for St. Cloud in the sixth from the long ball and he knocked in another in the seventh from a single. Ryan Shreve (Pacific) threw the next three hitless as Anthony DiMeglio (Fordham) retired the side in-order to secure the St. Cloud Victory.
Wisconsin Rapids 2, Kenosha 1
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters hung onto a one-run lead for three innings as they defeated the Kenosha Kingfish 2-1. Zach Stromberg (Boston College) threw the first four scoreless for Kenosha until Jake Guenther (Sacramento City CC) singled in a run in the fifth which was followed up by a sac fly. Rapids got a quality outing from their starter Quinn DiPasquale (SIT) as he threw six innings and only gave up a solo homerun to Derek Bangert (Bradley). Two Kingfish relievers threw the final 4.1 scoreless including Nick Long (Florida) logging 3.1 with five strikeouts. The Rafters bullpen countered with four guys throwing the final four as Layne Henderson (Azusa Pacific) converted his 13th save.
Willmar 7, La Crosse 1
The Willmar Stingers pulled away from the La Crosse Loggers for good and won 7-1. Luke Becker (Kentucky) put Willmar on the board in the fourth from a home run. Caleb Ledbetter (Montevallo) then scored an unearned run in the fifth to increase their lead, but La Crosse got on the board in the sixth. Luke Rasmussen (Long Beach State) singled in a run for the Loggers, but that would be all. The Stingers got three in the seventh from a fielder’s choice, sac fly and RBI single. They managed two more in the eighth from a bases loaded hit by pitch and a wild pitch which ended up resulting in the final score.
Schedule for July 24:
La Crosse @ Duluth (5:05 PM) (Game 1)
Kalamazoo @ Lakeshore (6:35 PM)
Wisconsin Rapids @ Rockford (6:35 PM)
Madison @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)
La Crosse @ Duluth (7:00 PM) (Game 2)
Green Bay @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)
Rochester @ Willmar (7:05 PM)
Eau Claire @ Mankato (7:05 PM)
Waterloo @ Bismarck (7:05 PM)
Wisconsin @ Kenosha (7:05 PM)
Thunder Bay @ St. Cloud (7:05 PM)
