(Photo courtesy of Leith Dunick – tbnewswatch.com)

Adam Courcha of the Border Cats lays down a bunt in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep of St. Cloud.

Thunder Bay 2  – St. Cloud 0 (Game 1)
 
Garrett Yount (Central Arizona College) and Matt Dwyer (Ripon College) combined on the shutout as Thunder Bay blanked St. Cloud 2-0 in the opener of a doubleheader.  Yount went 4.1 innings allowing all nine hits, with one walk and one strikeout as he evened his record at 1-1.  Dwyer pitched 2.2 innings of hitless relief for his first save.  A.J. Schugel (Central Arizona) hit his second home run of the season for the Border Cats as he went 2-4.  David Deminsky (St. Cloud State) took the loss to fall to 4-2.  Deminksy pitched six innings, allowing 10 hits and two runs.  The lefthander walked one and struck out four. David Oh (California) had a 2-3 day at the plate for the River Bats.
 
Thunder Bay 7  – St. Cloud 6 (Game 2)
 
The Border Cats erased a 4-0 St. Cloud lead, sending 10 men to the plate in a six run first inning as Thunder Bay went on to win the second game of the twinbill 7-6.  Cameron Smith (New Mexico) got things started for the Border Cats with a lead off home run, his first of the year.  David Phillips (Ole Miss) and Eddie Brown (Seton Hall) both went 2-4 as the Cats recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season.  Matt Singer (Seton Hall) improved to 2-2 with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.  Chris Marlowe (Navarro College) got the final three outs for his fourth save.  River Bats starter Logan Birr (St. Cloud State) failed to record an out as his record dipped to 1-2.  Birr was tagged for six runs on six hits all in the first inning.  Jonathan Roof (Michigan State) went 2-4 in the loss for St. Cloud.

Madison 2 – Green Bay 0

The Madison Mallards had enough offensive support to help its starter during a battle on the mound for a 2-0 win Thursday night at Jones Sign Field at Joannes Stadium. Joel Delorit (UW-Stevens Point) allowed just five hits, all singles, in seven innings of work, but couldn’t get the offensive support he needed at the plate. Green Bay (13-19) managed to place four runners in scoring position during night, but Madison (19-14) tossed 10 strikeouts to hold the Bullfrog bats silent. The Bullfrogs had men at second and third in the seventh, however, Mallards’ closer Denny Clement (Texas A&M) struck out the final two outs to get himself out of the jam. He fanned two batters in the final frame and induced a groundout to earn the save. Five different Mallards recorded a hit, as Mark Ginther (Oklahoma State) and Tyson Blaser (Iowa) scored the games only runs. Jared Andreoli (Western Kentucky) continues to swing a hot bat as he went 3-for-4 in the game with all of hits coming by way of singles through the infield. In his last four games he has gone 10-for-16 in the dish for a remarkable .625 batting average. Andreoli and Collin Kuhn (Arkansas) each stole a base for the Bullfrogs. Cody Winiarski (MATC-Madison) earned the win throwing six frames of three-hit ball, while walking two and fanning three. Delorit was credited with the loss after tossing seven innings, giving up five hits, two runs, and striking out eight. Ginther slapped a single up the middle before he was driven home by a Harold Riggins (North Carolina State) base knock. The run gave the Mallards all the offense they would need and a 1-0 lead in the fourth frame. Madison added an insurance run in the sixth off a J.R. Grahm (Santa Clara) single to left-center field. Blaser scored on the play after reaching on a single.

La Crosse 9 – Battle Creek 0

The La Crosse Loggers kept their winning streak alive as they picked up their fifth win in a row with a 9-0 victory against the Battle Creek Bombers. The Loggers started the rout in the fourth inning with a two run home run by Aaron Gates (Pepperdine).  They would then add another run in the next inning with an RBI single by Justin Prekajlo (N. Florida).  But this was just the start of the Loggers stretch of runs as they picked up two more runs on a double by Greg Holt (UNC) followed by Gates’ second home run of the night, this one being a three run shot to extend the lead to 9-0 in the 7th inning where it would finish. Picking up his second victory of the season was Loggers starting pitcher Richie Erath who went six innings giving up five hits and picking up two strikeouts.  Offensively the star was Aaron Gates once again.  Gates went 2-4 with two home runs and five RBI’s.  Greg Holt also stayed hot going 2-4 with two RBI’s and two runs scored.

Mankato 7 – Brainerd 1

James Wise hurled the MoonDogs second straight complete game and Taylor Black went 3-4 with two RBI to give Mankato their fifth straight win by a 7-1 count over Brainerd Lakes Area at Franklin Rogers Park Wednesday. Wise (Washington State) allowed the only run the Lunkers (15-17) would score just two batters into the game before settling down to shut them out the rest of the way. He struck out five and allowed nine hits to earn his third win (3-0) of the season. Black (Kentucky) had been slumping, batting just .114 coming into the contest. His three singles highlighted a nine-hit MoonDog (23-9) attack, as his two-RBI single in the third proved to be the game-winner. The current win streak of five matched a season-high for the MoonDogs, as they have now put together four win streaks of four games or more. The MoonDogs started out slow, trailing 1-0 after one but put together a four-run third to pull away. Ryan Durant (Iowa) posted an RBI single off pitcher Zach Kenyon’s (Iowa) foot before Black’s two run single. AJ Pettersen (Minnesota) rounded out the inning with an RBI single for a lead the MoonDogs would not relinquish. No other MoonDog had multiple hits, but Brian Haar (San Diego) posted a two-run double in the seventh as the MoonDogs pulled away from the Lunkers late. Michael Kvasnicka (Minnesota), Justin Gominsky (Minnesota) and T.J. Berge (Northern Colorado) all had two hits for the Lunkers, who fell two games below .500 with the loss. Kenyon suffered his fourth loss of the season (2-4), going five innings and allowing four earned runs. He struck out six, but walked six as well.

Alexandria 5 – Waterloo 1

A three-run fifth inning outburst by visiting Alexandria proved to be too much for the home-standing Waterloo Bucks Wednesday night. The Beetles (19-14) broke up a 1-1 tie with the roll. A two-run single from first baseman Keith Castillo (USC) that landed just out of the reach of a hustling attempt from second baseman Zach McCool (Iowa) was the key hit in the inning. Waterloo (10-21) was guided on offense by singles from McCool, shortstop Michael Giller (Illinois), third baseman Troy White (Northern Illinois), and designated hitter Christian Griffiths (Stanford). Alexandria starting pitcher Bryce Uhrig (Pepperdine) went seven innings and allowed just one hit while striking out four.

Rochester 6 – Duluth 0

The Honkers got a gem from starter Drew Gagnon (Long Beach State) and the offense made sure it wasn’t wasted, as Aaron Dunsmore (Dayton) and Corey Jones (Cal State Fullerton) added two run home runs to fuel the 6-0 victory over Duluth. With the win Rochester is now 18-13 while Duluth fell to 13-19 with one day remaining in the first half. Over seven innings Gagnon allowed just a single hit and two walks while striking out seven and allowing no runs to cross the plate. His fellow pitcher, Scott McGough (Oregon) picked up where Gagnon left off and completed the shutout, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three in his two innings of work. Gagnon’s effort earned him the win, moving his record to 3-1, while the loss went to Duluth’s starter, Sean Yost (Nebraska), for his five inning effort in which he allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and four walks. He did strike out six batters, but fell to 1-4 on the year. Of course a sterling pitching performance doesn’t mean much without a little offensive support, and the Honkers made sure Gagnon got it in the third inning. After John Tommasini (Oregon State) reached on an error to start the inning, Dunsmore crushed a two run shot well over the wall in right to give the Honkers the 2-0 lead. Yost would recover and make it through the inning, but Rochester jumped back on the board in the fifth. William Arnold (Central Michigan) started the inning with a walk and Corey Jones followed with a torpedo-shot over the wall in right to make it 4-0. The homer was his eighth, extending his NWL leading total. Rochester would score another run in the inning and add a sixth in the seventh inning to complete the scoring. The Honkers finished with 11 hits, to Duluth’s two. Dunsmore and Jones both went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored each. Danny Brock (St. Louis) was a perfect 3-for-3, including two doubles and scoring a run as well.

Eau Claire 4 – Wisconsin 3 (10 Innings)

The longest losing streak of the season for the Eau Claire Express ended at two games Wednesday night at Wausau. The Express scored in the top of the tenth inning to defeat the Wisconsin Woodchucks 4-3. The Express struggled in two games at home Monday and Tuesday after they clinched the South Division first half championship. The two game losing streak was the first time all season that the Express lost two games in a row. Louis Head (Texas Tech) gave the Express an outing that was well needed on the mound. Head went 7.2 innings and gave up only three runs. He was relieved by Brooks Pinckard (Baylor), who started the game in centerfield. Pinckard pitched 2.1 innings to earn the win for the Express. Jon Ringenberg (Baylor) led the offense with three hits. Kole Calhoun (Arizona St.) and Dominic Piazza (Yavapai) both had two hits a piece.