Alexandria 3, Brainerd 0
Alexandria 6, Brainerd 4
The Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers dropped both games to the Alexandria Beetles on Thursday night, dropping game one 3-0 in eight innings and dropping game two 6-4 in nine innings at Mills Field. In game one, Jason Forjet got the start and was strong through seven innings, not giving up a run. The Beetles Nate Smith was equally as strong, as he struck out ten through seven innings to pick up the win. The Beetles struck for three runs in the Top of the 8th, and then Anthony Bazzani came on in the 9th for his fifth save.
In game two, the Lunkers turned to James Farris, who had a very strong start. He went 5.2 innings, giving up three unearned runs and striking out eight.
The Lunkers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in that game after an RBI triple and double in the 5th. But the Beetles would strike back in the Top of the 6th with four unearned runs.
The Lunkers tied the game in the Bottom of the 7th with a Wade Wass single that drove home Tommy Reyes. And in the Top of the 9th, Alexandria would score the two runs to take the lead and ultimately win the ball game. The win goes to Anthony Bazzani in game two, with the loss going to Tyler Sparger.
Wisconsin Rapids 4, Battle Creek 2
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters jumped in front of the Battle Creek Bombers early Thursday night and held on late for a 4-2 victory, winning their second straight series this half. Starter Augey Bill scattered three Battle Creek hits over the first three innings before the Rafters plated a pair in the bottom of the third. The Bombers picked up one run off of Bill in the top of the fifth, but the Rafters were there to answer in the bottom of the inning. After reliever John Morrison plunked Bobby Martin to lead off the inning, Cody Koback doubled with one out to put the Rafters up 3-1. Koback had a hand in the Rafters final insurance run, singling to lead off the seventh and scoring on a Brandon Hohl double into the left field gap.
Eau Claire 3, La Crosse 2
After dropping six straight games to start the second half of the season, the Eau Claire Express seem to be finding a way to win games again. They took advantage of a La Crosse Loggers’ error and two base running mishaps, to defeat the Loggers, 3-2, at Copeland Park. Brad Goldberg gave the Express another solid performance from their starting pitching, going 6.1 innings and he gave up only one run on four hits. It was the second straight strong performance, following up Brad Kuntz on Wednesday night. The offense is starting to find their groove as well, although they were held to three runs Thursday night, they still knocked out nine hits. But the turning point in the game came in the eighth inning in a 1-1 tie.
Wisconsin 2, Green Bay 1
The Wisconsin Woodchucks and Green Bay Bullfrogs each sent two All-Star pitchers to the mound, but it was the Woodchucks coming out on top, 2-1, to win the rubber game of the series. All-Star Tom Briner of the Woodchucks and Andy Hunter of the Bullfrogs traded zeros for the first four innings of the game, as both pitchers were deadly on the mound. Briner pitched six innings, allowing only one run on five hits and striking out five. In the top of the ninth, Bullfrog All-Star closer John Colella threw a ball to the backstop, allowing Gerber to score the go-ahead run from third on the wild pitch. All-Star Ryan Iverson came on in relief of Briner in the seventh and pitched three scoreless innings for the ‘Chucks, as he picked up his league-leading sixth win of the season.
Mankato 13, Thunder Bay 7
The Mankato MoonDogs picked up their 28th win of the season Thursday night, defeating the Thunder Bay Border Cats 13-7 at Port Arthur Stadium. Matt Dunbar made his first start of the summer for the MoonDogs Thursday night, handcuffing the Border Cats offense. Dunbar allowed no runs on three hits, walking two batters and striking out four over seven innings of work. The MoonDogs offense jumped out to an early lead in the top of the third inning, sending 12 batters to the plate, scoring seven runs on six hits. Joe Loftus and Brennan Moore each drove in two runs in the inning. Moore continued his offensive tear in the top of the fifth inning, blasting a grand slam over the left field wall, extending Mankato’s lead to 11-0. Loftus would keep pace with Moore, smashing his first homerun of the summer, a solo shot to lead off the top of the eighth inning. Moore led the MoonDogs offensively going 3-for-6 with two runs scored and six runs batted in.
Madison 4, Waterloo 1
The Madison Mallards defeated the Waterloo Bucks 4-1 on Thursday night in front of 6,464 fans at a happy "Duck Pond." The Mallards’ got back to their winning ways behind a great team effort led by pitcher Estevan Uriegas and also snapped their six-game losing streak. Offensively, the Mallards found their stroke again as the team pounded out nine hits, tripling their total from Wednesday night’s game. Justin Parr and Kyle Moody both had two hits, and Travis Parker had two RBIs out of the cleanup spot. The team scored a run in four of their eight turns at the plate, and even took chances on the base paths with four stolen bases.
St. Cloud 8, Rochester 5
Willmar, Duluth
Postponedto July 20th at 5:05
