Published On: July 15th, 2009

Rochester 10 – Brainerd 1 (Game 1)

The Honkers rolled into tonight’s double-header in Brainerd with a perfect 6-0 record in double-dippers this season, but Rochester just couldn’t keep that impressive streak going any longer. After winning the first game extremely easily at 10-1, the Lunkers bounced back in the nightcap with a 12-4 blowout victory to split the series. Both games were played to seven innings rather than nine. Rochester is now 9-4 in the second half while Brainerd fell to 6-6. The first game was over almost as soon as it began. Facing their former teammate Matt Mullendore (Hamline), the Honkers refused to give him any break. Rochester pounded out five hits and drew six walks from Mullendore before chasing him midway through the third inning, touching him for eight runs. The Brainerd defense wasn’t much help to Mullendore, though; as two early errors resulted in just three of the eight runs he allowed being earned. Still, it was a rough outing for the pitcher who tossed over 20 innings for the Honkers early in the season with an ERA of just 3.10. The big hits in the game came from Chris Auten (New Mexico State) and Tony Thompson (Kansas), who added three-run doubles in the second and third innings, respectively. Corey Jones (Cal State Fullerton) also added two runs and two RBI in his 2-for-4 performance, while John Tommasini (Oregon State) scored three runs despite not collecting a hit. Five of the eight hits for Rochester went for extra bases, and the Honkers scored all 10 runs without hitting a home run in the game. Drew Gagnon (Long Beach State) earned the win by tossing six innings allowing just one run on four hits to move to 4-1. Mullendore took the loss to fall to 1-1 with Brainerd.

Brainerd 12 – Rochester 4 (Game 2)

The Lunkers offense ignited for 17 hits and 12 runs in six innings of work to down the Rochester Honkers in Game Two, 12-4 to earn the series split at Mills Field. Starter Brian Garman (Cincinnati) allowed ten hits and four runs in his complete game performance. He walked just three and struck out 11 Honker hitters on the night. He picked up his second victory and lowered his ERA to 3.68. The only inning the Lunkers didn’t score in was the first. They brought home two runs in the second and third, three in the fourth, and five in the fifth to lay Rochester to bed. Dennis O’Grady (Duke), Mike Kvasnicka (Minnesota), Nate Hammes (St. Cloud State), Justin Gominsky (Minnesota), Shon Roe (Loyola Marymount), Mike Gedman (UMass), and Will Piwnica-Worms (Duke) all finished with two hits apiece. Stephen Wickens (Florida Gulf Coast), Gominsky, Roe, Gedman, and Piwnica-Worms all scored two runs each as well.

Madison 9 – La Crosse 7

The La Crosse Loggers dropped their second consecutive game Wednesday night as they fell 9-7 to the Madison Mallards at Copeland Park in front of 3,426 fans in attendance.  With the sweep Madison pull into a first place tie with the Loggers in the south division. La Crosse got out to a 3-0 lead with starting pitcher Richie Erath pitching a no-hitter through four innings before Madison woke up their bats in the fifth inning.  Madison was able to pick up four runs to take the 4-3 lead through five.  Both teams would add another run to make the score 5-4 in favor of the Mallards until the bottom of the eighth when the Loggers added two more runs to take the 6-5 lead due to an RBI single from Brandon Meredith (San Diego St.).  The inning looked to be over when Robert Abel grounded into a routine double play, but an error on the shortstop allowed all runners to be safe and eventually lead to the sixth Logger run when Mallards pitcher Brandon Johnson (Western Carolina) walked in a run with the bases loaded.  The Mallards did not let this phase them though as they put up a four spot in the top of the ninth to take the 9-6 lead.  La Crosse would get one back in the bottom of the inning from a solo home run by Aaron Gates but it would not be enough as Madison retired three of the next four batters to capture the 9-7 victory. Center fielder Jimmy Parque had a coming out game as he went 3-4 on the night with three runs.  Jerrud Sabourin drove in three runs on one hit and Kurtis Muller stayed hot going 2-4 with two more RBI’s.  Despite only pitching a third of an inning, Brad Allen picked up his first win of the year and Dan Burawa picked up his second save in as many nights.  Greg Holt picks up the loss for the Loggers after pitching two thirds of an inning allowing four runs on four hits.

Thunder Bay 4 – Green Bay 3

Jacob House became the first player this season to hit a homer over the Leinies Northwoods Fan Deck in right field. It wouldn’t be enough as Thunder Bay took the contest, 5-4, over Green Bay at Jones Sign Field inside Joannes Stadium on Wednesday evening. There was no doubt about it in the sixth frame when House (Arkansas) made contact with his first pitch of the at-bat. The two-run homer was his first of the season and came near splashing into the East River behind the wall. Thunder Bay used a two-run eighth frame to turn a deficit into a lead for the come from behind series sweep. The Border Cats also used a home run in their scoring efforts, as Adam Courcha (New Mexico) hit a wind-aided bomb in the opening inning. David Phillips (Ole Miss) led the Thunder Bay offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, while Derek Hamblen (Belmont) chipped in a 2-for-4 outing of is own. The bottom three batters in the Thunder Bay lineup each recorded a steal. Kyle Robinson (Indian River State) stroked a pair of singles on the night, while House scored twice for the Bullfrogs. Luis Castillo (Bellevue) earned the victory on the mound in eight innings of work. He struck out seven, but allowed five hits and three runs, to go along with three walks. Chuck Lukanen (Northern Illinois) was solid on the mound during his six innings for Green Bay. He fanned eight batters and walked only one. Tim Combs (Eastern Michigan) pitched the ninth and struck out one to pick up the save. House walked and advanced to third on a two-base throwing error prior to scoring on Paul Hoenecke’s (UW-Milwaukee) RBI groundout. The run tied the game at one run apiece in the fourth inning. The Border Cats loaded the bases for the second time on the night in the seventh inning and scored a run to cut the deficit to 3-2. Phillips was plated on a Cameron Smith (New Mexico) pinch hit single to right-center field. Thunder Bay racked up four singles, three walks, and two doubles during the seventh and eighth inning rally. Alex Schmarzo (Saint Mary’s) took the loss out of the bullpen after giving up four hits and two earned runs.

Mankato 2 – Duluth 1

Ryan Demmin picked up a depleted MoonDog bullpen by throwing a complete game, three-hit gem to give Mankato a 2-1 win over Duluth Wednesday evening at Franklin Rogers Park. Demmin (UW-Oshkosh) lived up to his all-star billing, as he allowed just a single unearned run in the first inning and struck out a season-high eight batters. After the first inning Demmin faced just four batters over the minimum and allowed two hits in earning his fifth win (5-3) of the year while lowering his ERA to 1.19. Both teams posted a run in the first inning, as Duluth (17-29, 4-9) got on the board first. Jerico Weitzel (Florida) started the game by reaching on a throwing error by Cody Fick (Evansville). After a sac bunt moved Weitzel to third, a Nathan Melendres (Miami) line drive sacrifice fly to center brought home what would be the only Husky run. The MoonDogs (30-16, 7-6) got the run right back in the bottom of the inning. KC Serna (Oregon) led off the inning with a single and moved to second when Melendres misplaced the hop. After an AJ Pettersen (Minnesota) sacrifice bunt, Tony Strazzara (San Diego) brought Serna home with single up the middle to tie the game. The MoonDogs tallied the winning run in the fifth inning, as Taylor Black (Kentucky) started the frame with a single to center. After a Pettersen infield single to short, Danny Miller (Minnesota State) punched a ground ball through the left side to give the MoonDogs a 2-1 lead and winning run. The MoonDogs tripled the Husky hit total 9-3, as Miller and Ryan Durant (Iowa) both had two hits to pace the MoonDogs. Drew Smyly (Arkansas) matched Demmin throughout the night, but came out of the contest the tough-luck loser. Smyly threw seven innings, allowing eight hits and striking out seven to fall to 0-2.

Waterloo 12 – Eau Claire 3

In what first appeared to be a repeat of Tuesday night, the Bucks stopped the Eau Claire Express in their tracks Wednesday night, defeating them 12-3. The Express struck in the first inning as they had in their win the night before, but the Bucks defense quickly stopped them and put runs up on the board. Left-handed thrower Rick Dodridge (Central Michigan) took the mound for the Bucks and brought in the win. Designated hitter Zach McCool (Iowa) brought in the first run in the fourth inning, which started off an array of runs throughout the game. The Bucks tallied seven runs in the seventh which was started off by a single by Phil Keppler (Iowa) which brought in Christian Griffiths (Stanford) and also allowed Troy White to score on an error during the play. Outfielder Jason Krizan (Dallas Baptist) cranked his first homerun of the season, hit a double, scored three runs and brought in one run. Outfielder Willie Argo also hit a double, bringing in two runs. Keppler hit his second home run of the season and brought in two runs.

St. Cloud 2 – Alexandria 0

Eight strong innings from David Deminsky, (St. Cloud State) helped the St. Cloud River Bats (7-4, 20-25) defeat the Alexandria Beetles 2-0 in front of 1,183 fans at Knute Nelson Memorial Park. The win, coupled with the Honkers (9-4) split in a double header with Brainerd, puts the Bats a game out of first place and in sole possesion of second place in the north. The left-hander (5-3) struck out four, walked one and did not allow a single runner as far as third base. Deminsky induced two Keith Castillo (USC) double plays in key situations. It was an offensive struggle, with both teams recording just four hits. The Bats scored a run in the sixth inning when Dan Betteridge (Rutgers) came home on an Austin Siwiec (Valpo) wild pitch. Betteridge scored the game’s only two runs. Brian Humphries (Pepperdine) singled in Betteridge in the eighth inning. Matt Summers (UC Irvine) finished 2-for-3 with a walk. Humphries added two hits as well. Connor Lambert (Washington State) struck out two in the ninth and grabbed his team-leading sixth save. With the win, the Bats have defeated the Beetles three straight times and have matched a season-best win streak.

Battle Creek 6 – Wisconsin 5

A one-out single by shortstop Doug Otto (VCU) in the bottom of the ninth gave the Battle Creek Bombers a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Wisconsin Woodchucks this afternoon. The Bombers took the lead in the fifth inning, but the Woodchucks would fight back to tie the game in the eighth. A two-run ninth gave the Woodchucks a 5-3 lead, and it seemed as if this would be their second come-from-behind victory in as many nights. But the Bombers responded with a three-run bottom half of the ninth, stealing the game back from the Woodchucks. Pitching dominated the early innings, as Wisconsin’s Bryce Shafer (Valparaiso) and Battle Creek’s Joe Wagstaff (Louisburg) kept the game scoreless through four. After walking the leadoff man, Shafer retired the next 10 batters he faced. Joe Wagstaff had an equally impressive start to the game, giving up only three hits and walking two in the first five innings. Although both pitchers received no-decisions for their efforts, they did everything they could to give their team the opportunity to win the game. The Bombers broke the deadlock with a three-run fifth inning. Matt Miraldi (Cal State LA) got the offense started by drawing a one-out walk. After back-to-back singles loaded the bases, Matt Murphy (Arizona State) hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Miraldi from third. Alan Denman (USC-Sumter) then knocked a clutch two-out RBI single to right to bring in Joe Van Meter (VCU). A past ball brought another Bomber across the plate, widening the gap to 3-0. The Woodchucks responded in the top of the sixth with two runs of their own. The inning began with an error and a walk, and both runners would eventually come around to score on two singles and a wild pitch. In the eighth, small-ball helped the Woodchucks even the score. After a leadoff single by Brett Krill (UCLA), a sacrifice bunt and a ground ball to the right side of the infield put a runner on third with two outs. Jeremy Richter (UW-Stevens Point) would single to right, driving in the tying run. Richter ended the night 3-for-4 with three singles and two RBI. The Woodchucks gained their first lead of the game in the ninth. After the leadoff batter struck out, the Woodchucks strung together four consecutive singles to give them a 5-3 lead. The rally was capped off with an infield single by Brett Krill, who went 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored, and an RBI. However, the Bombers refused to quit. Craig Denman (Mercy Hurst) led the ninth inning rally with an infield single, and a walk and a sacrifice bunt put the tying run on second with one out. After an unintentional intentional walk to Chris Lewis (Western Michigan) loaded the bases, Josh Valle (Marshall) lined a ball off the pitchers leg for an RBI infield single. As the pitcher tried to recover and get the force-out at home, his throw sailed high, allowing Mike Murphy to score the tying run. After intentionally walking the bases loaded, Doug Otto drove a walk-off single over the left fielder’s head, giving the Bombers a 6-5 victory.

Latest News