Eau Claire lost and Mankato won to put both teams in a tie for first in the second half South Standings going into the final day. Rockford and Lakeshore round out the final four in the South Division to go along with Rapids and Battle Creek in the playoffs. Waterloo still has a chance to get into the playoffs as they are tied with Eau Claire in the overall standings.
Rockford 0, Kalamazoo 2 (Game 1) (7 Innings)
The Kalamazoo Growlers got another complete game shutout from their starter as they defeated the Rockford Rivets 2-0. Just Palmbos (Davenport) threw all seven innings as he only allowed two hits and one walk while striking out two. The Rivets got their two in the bottom of the third when Matt Koehler (Western Carolina) knocked in both from a single. Kian O’Brien (Madison College) hit a two out single for Rockford in the bottom of the seventh, but the next guy flew out to end the game.
Lakeshore 8, Wisconsin Rapids 3
The Lakeshore Chinooks cored early and late as they defeated the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 8-3. Both teams scored single runs in the first as Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State) hit a single for Lakeshore and Ryan Stekl (Canisius) knocked one in from a sac flyout for Rapids. Lakeshore got three in the second from three RBI singles including DeSimone driving in another. The Chinooks got a pair in the fifth from a double and single as Tim DalPorto (Kent State) led off the sixth with a home run. Rapids got another in the bottom half from a sac flyout, but Rylan Thomas (Central Florida) hit one out for the Chinooks in the seventh. Rapids stayed alive in the bottom of the ninth from a Bryson Stott (UNLV) single, but the next guy struck out to end the game.
La Crosse 4, Bismarck 6 (8 Innings)
The Bismarck Larks got one late before the game was called due to rain and defeated the La Crosse Loggers 6-4. Bismarck got their first two in the bottom half of the opening inning as Luke Horanski (Virginia Tech) doubled one in and another scored on a wild pitch. The Larks got another three in the second as two scored from a sac flyout and fielder’s choice as Ryan Anderson (UC Davis) hit a single for one. The Loggers got their first in the fifth from an RBI ground out as they came within one in the sixth including two from a single by Dashon Moore (South Suburban). The Larks got one more in the bottom of the eighth from a sac flyout as the game ended.
Kenosha 4, Wisconsin 5
The Wisconsin Woodchucks walked it off in the bottom of the ninth as they defeated the Kenosha Kingfish 5-4. Both teams got on the board first in the second as Derek Bangert (Bradley) scored on a caught stealing attempt for Kenosha and Chad Fleischman (Lamar) homered to lead off the Chucks half. Bangert scored again in the sixth from a triple as Fleischman went deep to lead off another inning in the seventh. Bangert then singled one in the eighth and then got a double in the ninth to go ahead by two. Wisconsin got an RBI ground out to start things in the bottom of the ninth as Jackson Owens (Texas A&M-CC) drove in two for the game-winner.
St. Cloud 1, Eau Claire 0
The St. Cloud Rox shutout the Eau Claire Express with two pitchers as they won the game 1-0. Jake Stevenson (Minnesota) pitched the first eight for the Rox and only allowed three baserunners and struck out eight on his way to his second win. Keaton Kringlen (BYU) singled in a run for St. Cloud in the top half of the opening inning which was enough for the final score. Caleb Willems (UW-La Crosse) started for Eau Claire and only gave up the one run on six innings. Craig Colen (Cal Poly) threw the next three, but didn’t get any run support as Brent Killam (Georgetown) shutdown the Express in the ninth to end the game.
Duluth 2, Waterloo 17
The Waterloo Bucks poured it on all game and defeated the Duluth Huskies 17-2. Waterloo put up their first six in the bottom half of the opening inning which featured an error, a two-run double by Jackson Goplen (St. Cloud State) and a two-run shot by Drew Greenwood (Bellarmine). The Bucks got three in the second from a two-run single and another RBI single as they put up three more in the third. Duluth got their only two in the seventh as Rob Emery (San Francisco) hit an RBI single and scored. Waterloo went on for another five in the bottom half and then shutdown the Huskies in the final two to end the game.
Green Bay 3, Fond du Lac 5
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders only allowed one inning of scoring the Green Bay Bullfrogs as they won the game 5-3. Green Bay put up their only three in the fourth when Mikey Filia (UC Irvine) cleared the bases with a triple. Eric Gilgenbach (Notre Dame) then led off the fourth with the long ball for the Dock Spiders. Fondy tied the game in the sixth when Aaron Goecks (SIUE) double in a run and scored on the next at bat. The Spiders got another triple which scored two in the eighth as Tyler Hopman (Kean) threw three out of the pen and won his second game of the season.
Battle Creek 3, Madison 7
The Madison Mallards used a four-run second to defeat the Battle Creek Bombers 7-3. Madison started their four-run inning when Maverick Handley (Stanford) doubled two in and he scored on a sac flyout later. Both teams traded runs in the third as the Bombers got their first from an RBI fielder’s choice and Madison from a wild pitch. Battle Creek got a pair in the sixth to come within two as Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) drove in two from the long ball as the bullpen threw the final 3 to end the game.
Mankato 5, Rochester 4
The Mankato MoonDogs broke a tie in the top of the ninth and defeated the Rochester Honkers 5-4. Both teams traded runs in the opening inning as Mankato got one from an RBI double by Ryan Kreidler (UCLA) and Zach Zubia (Texas) went deep for the Honkers. Rochester went ahead with three in the fourth which featured two from an error. The MoonDogs then tied it in the eighth from two bases loaded walks and a wild pitch. Mankato went ahead for good in the top of the ninth when Daniel Amaral (UCLA) drew a walk with the bases loaded.
Kalamazoo 4, Rockford 1 (Game 2) (7 Innings)
The Kalamazoo Growlers scored three early and defeated the Rockford Rivets 4-1. The Growlers got their first three in the first as Jeff Riedel (Ball State) went deep and Jason Sullivan (Central Michigan) scored an unearned run. Riedel scored one in the third, but Rockford got their one and only in the bottom half from Neal Tyrell (Lewis) doubled in one. George Lamb (Texas Rio Grande) threw two in relief as Andrew Huff (Middle Tennessee State) pitched the final inning to end the game.
Willmar 6, Thunder Bay 5 (10 Innings)
The Willmar Stingers needed 10 innings to defeat the Thunder Bay Border Cats 6-5. The Stingers got their first three in the fourth from back-to-back bases loaded walks and a sac flyout. The Border Cats took the lead then in the bottom half with five as Brendan Dougherty (Bradley) knocked in two from a double. Willmar got one in the fifth as Nolan Bumstead (CSUN) went deep and then Luke Becker (Kentucky) forced extras with the long ball in the ninth. They got their third home run in the tenth from Tyler Reichenborn (Iowa Western) which proved to be the game-winner.
Schedule for August 13:
Mankato @ Rochester (1:05 PM)
Willmar @ Thunder Bay (1:35 PM)
Duluth @ Waterloo (2:05 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Green Bay (3:05 PM) (Game 1)
Kenosha @ Wisconsin (3:05 PM)
La Crosse @ Bismarck (3:05 PM)
Rockford @ Kalamazoo (3:05 PM)
Battle Creek @ Madison (4:05 PM)
Lakeshore @ Wisconsin Rapids (4:05 PM)
St. Cloud @ Eau Claire (5:05 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Green Bay (5:05 PM) (Game 2)
