Rockford bounced back and defeated the Battle Creek as they sit a game ahead of the Bombers for first in the second half standings. Mankato lost, but so did Eau Claire and Willmar as the MoonDogs still hold a game lead in both standings. St. Cloud is within one after a huge win and Rapids has won three in a row to hold a 6.5 game lead for first place in the overall standings.
Lakeshore 7, Fond du Lac 6
The Lakeshore Chinooks outscored the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders in the eighth and won the game 7-6. Fondy put up four in the bottom of the first when Andrew Bullock (Western Carolina) singled in a run and Caleb Summerhays (UNLV) followed with two on a single and scored from a pass ball. Summerhays got hit by a pitch to drive in another in the second. The Chinooks got on the board from an RBI fielder’s choice in the fourth and then tied it in the fifth which included a two-run single by Rylan Thomas (Central Florida). They took the lead in the fourth and tacked on two more in the eighth. Fondy got one unearned run in the bottom of the eighth, but that wasn’t enough as the final two Lakeshore pitchers shutdown the Spiders.
Rockford 12, Battle Creek 8
The Rockford Rivets added three insurance runs in the eighth and defeated the Battle Creek Bombers 12-8. Rockford got six right away in the opening inning as Zach Rheams (Texas Tech) singled in two to get things going. The Bombers managed three in the bottom half as JD Mundy (Virginia Tech) drove in two from a double. The Rivets got one in the second, but Battle Creek put up three in the bottom half when Alex Howard (Arkansas State) and Nick Walker both went deep. The Bombers tied it in the third, but Rockford got one in the fifth and sixth. Battle Creek got one in the bottom of the sixth from a Tom Stoffel (Virginia Tech) homer, but the Rivets got another three in the eighth which started with Rheams leading off the inning going deep. David Brown (Kutztown) put a runner on in the ninth, but retired the side for the Rivets to end the game.
Kenosha 0, Madison 1 (11 Innings)
The Madison Mallards needed 11 innings to defeat the Kenosha Kingfish 1-0. Nick Long (Florida) got the start for the Kingfish and threw the first six scoreless on only four hits and one walk while striking out seven. Matt McCarthy (Louisville) started for Madison and he too threw six scoreless while only allowing three hits and one walks while striking out two. Justin Hasek (Galveston CC) and Billy McKay (Florida) threw the next three scoreless for Kenosha as Andrew Buckley (California) threw three for the Mallards. Riley Pawelski (Madison College) then three the next two for Madison and picked up the win as Tommy Bullock knocked in the game-winner from a single.
Wisconsin 5, Green Bay 7
The Green Bay Bullfrogs took the lead for good in the seventh and never looked back as they defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks 7-5. The Chucks were first on the board in the opening inning from a sac flyout. Green Bay tied it in the fourth from a sac flyout of their own, but the Woodchucks retook the lead on an RBI single by Trey Dawson in the fifth. Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) then hit a three-run shot for Wisconsin, but the Bullfrogs got three on a triple by Ben Hart and double by Zach Plunkett (Arkansas). The Frogs then got three more in the seventh and got the final two scoreless from two relievers to win the game.
Eau Claire 8, Thunder Bay 12
The Thunder Bay Border Cats went back and forth with the Eau Claire Express while winning the game 12-6. Eau Claire put up three in the opening inning which all started when Taylor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) singled in two runs. Noah Strohl (Grossmont) put up one for Thunder Bay in the bottom half from an RBI single. Thunder Bay tied it with two in the fourth, but the Express scored three more in the fifth from RBI doubles. The Border Cats came within one in the bottom half and took the lead with three in the sixth which included an RBI single by Strohl. Eau Claire tied it again after getting one in the seventh and eighth. The Border Cats took the lead with four in the bottom of the eighth including Colin Rosenbaum (Belmont Abbey) and Kevin Biondic (Maryland) leading off the inning with the long ball. Biondic then came into pitch and shutdown the Express in-order to win the game.
Duluth 10, Rochester 3
The Duluth Huskies pulled away in the fifth and defeated the Rochester Honkers 10-3. The Honkers got one in the bottom of the first when Zach Zubia (Texas) hit his league-best 20th home run. Duluth put up two in the fourth from a sac flyout and an RBI single by Rudy Karre (Kansas). Rochester two more from the long ball as Kenyon Yovan (Oregon) went deep in the bottom half. The Honkers then took the lead for good in the fifth as Chase Strumpf (UCLA) added two from a double. They went on to get three more in the eighth and a home run by Gabe Knowles (Minnesota) in the ninth which would end up being the final score.
Bismarck 11, La Crosse 8
The Bismarck Larks prevented a late comeback from the La Crosse Loggers and won the game 11-8. La Crosse got three in the bottom half of the opening inning from an error and a two-run double by Jeremy Ydens (UCLA). An error scored another for the Loggers in the third, but Bismarck got four in the fourth which included a three-run shot by Luke Waldek (Minnesota State). The Larks got another in the fifth from a bases loaded walk and then another pair in the sixth from two errors. Bismarck scored four more in the seventh from another two La Crosse errors. La Crosse then got a pair in the eighth from the long ball by Ryan Mantle and another two in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but the final guy grounded out to end the game.
Kalamazoo 5, Wisconsin Rapids 7
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters score five late and defeat the Kalamazoo Growlers 7-5. The scoring started in the second when the Growlers got two including a solo shot by Ryan Orr (San Diego State). Rapids responded with three in the bottom half from an error, sac fly and RBI single by Dustin Woodcock (SIUE). Kalamazoo tied it from an RBI triple in the fifth and took the lead on a two-run single in the sixth. Ryan Stekl (Canisius) brought Rapids within one from the long ball in the seventh and they took the lead for good in the next inning which started on a solo shot by Jake Guenther (Sacramento City CC). Layne Henderson (Azusa Pacific) allowed two walks in the ninth, but came back to convert his 16th save.
Waterloo 11, Mankato 2
The Waterloo Bucks used a big inning early and late to defeat the Mankato MoonDogs 11-2. The Bucks got four in the opening inning which started with Brandon Gutzler (Murray State) doubling in two and scoring on a double. The game then went scoreless as Zachary McLeod (Grand Canyon) threw the first 4.2 scoreless for Waterloo. The Bucks finally got two in the seventh from a triple, but Mankato scored one in the seventh from an error and ground out. Drew Greenwood (Bellarmine) and Nikola Mislinski (San Diego) then both hit two-run shots in the eighth while Mankato got one in the bottom half, but the deficit was too much.
St. Cloud 20, Willmar 3
The Cloud Rox poured it on the Willmar Stingers all night as they won the game 20-3. The Rox got on the board in the second with a pair of runs from an RBI double and a ground out. The Stingers responded for one in the bottom half on an error. Willmar then took the lead on an RBI ground out and an RBI single by Danny Rodriguez (Bethune Cookman). The Rox then put up four in the fourth as Keaton Kringlen (BYU) led off the inning with a dinger. St. Cloud got three in the fifth from two RBI doubles and a wild pitch. Three more came in the sixth and then they posted eight in the seventh. Four straight guys were walked with the bases loaded as the next guy got hit and another came from a sac flyout. Drew Avans (SE Louisiana) then hit an RBI double in his second at bat in the seventh. St. Cloud then got the final three scoreless from their bullpen as they went on to win the game in a rout.
Schedule for August 2:
Mankato @ St. Cloud (12:05 PM) (Game 1)
Eau Claire @ Duluth (6:35 PM)
Mankato @ St. Cloud (7:05 PM) (Game 2)
