Photo Courtesy of James Mirabelli

Wisconsin 4, Green Bay 3

The Green Bay Bullfrogs had a hard fought battle Sunday afternoon with the Wisconsin Woodchucks. The Bullfrogs came up just short dropping the game 4-3.  The Bullfrogs were trailing going into the bottom of the second inning, 1-0 before Scott Schebler (Wichita State) stepped up to the plate and drove the ball over the right field fence for a home run.  The Woodchucks broke the tie in the top of the third when they scored on a wild pitch by Owen Jones (Portland). The Bullfrogs answered right back in the bottom of the third inning when Joel Hutter (Dallas Baptist) drove in two runs on a single to left field. Jones threw another wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score. Kevin Pillar (Cal St.-Dominguez) delivered an RBI single to right field that put the Woodchucks up 4-3 to finish out the scoring.

 

Battle Creek 5, Waterloo 3 (Game 1)

The Bucks started off the game by getting a run in the first inning off a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the inning, the Bombers got on the board. Sean Deegan (Penn State) scored on an error that also advanced Josh Rosecrans (Grayson CC) to second base. Josh Lyons (Indiana) hit a fly ball to short center to knock two Bombers home.  In the third and fourth innings, both teams got one run a piece. The rest of the innings were quiet with no scoring, but Waterloo’s first baseman, Jake Astor (Southern Arkansas), got an unassisted double play in the fifth inning. The Bombers took game one of the double header with a final score of 5-3.

 

Waterloo 6, Battle Creek 3 (Game 2)

The second game was opposite of the first, with scoring happening in the later innings. In the top of the sixth inning, Tyler Spillner (Purdue) moved to second on a wild pitch and then scored when Brandon Williams (Georgia State) hit a single. Dan Holcomb (Grand Valley State) entered the game for the Bombers with two out and two on base and he then loaded the bases with a walk. The Bucks grounded out to end the inning and the Bombers come out unhurt.  During the seventh inning, Holcomb hit Phil Keppler (Iowa) in the head and then walked Nick Anderson (Bradley). Zach McCool (Iowa) sacrifice bunted to advance players to second and third. Spillner then hit a fly ball that scored Keppler.  The Bucks took game two with a score of 6-3.

 

Alexandria 9, Mankato 5

The Alexandria Beetles beat the Mankato Moondogs 9-5 on Sunday afternoon at Knute Nelson Memorial Park.  Lindsey Caughel (Stetson) threw 6.1 innings while giving up two hits and one run.  The Beetles walked 11 times as a team and were led by Matt Lowenstein (Loyola Marymount) who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored.  The Moondogs got a great hitting performance out of catcher Robbie Robinson (Valparaiso) who went 2-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI. 

 

Rochester 7, Thunder Bay 3

The Honkers handed Thunder Bay their first loss of the season 7-3 behind the solid pitching of the Rochester pitching staff.  The Honkers evened the series with the Border Cats at one game apiece following a 7-3 victory behind the pitching of Mike Strong (Oklahoma State) who picks up his first win of the season. Strong tossed 6 innings of shutout baseball allowing just three hits while tallying five strikeouts and scattering five walks.  At the plate for the Honkers Matt Dittman (Illinois) continued his hot streak going 2-for-4 with two singles along with Rochester shortstop Richie Jimenez (UNLV) who also finished with two hits and an RBI on the night.

 

La Crosse 3, Madison 1

A night after the La Crosse Loggers and Madison Mallards had their game postponed due to inclement weather, the two teams squared off in the series finale which saw two separate rain delays before a winner was decided.  The Loggers escaped with the 3-1 victory at Copeland Park in front of 2,812 fans thanks in large part to the relief pitching of two teammates from Winona State University.  Brandon Verthein (Winona State) earned the win on the mound for the Loggers after allowing no runs on two hits in relief of starting pitcher Tobin Mateychick (Wichita State).  Kodey Simon (Winona State) would pitch the final 3.2 innings for La Crosse allowing no runs or hits as he picked up his first save of the season.  Simon struck out three Madison batters in his relief duty as he has now pitched eight no-hit innings this season. 

 

Eau Claire 7, Wisconsin Rapids 0

From the first pitch to the last explosion of fireworks, the excitement over baseball’s debut back in Wisconsin Rapids remained high despite a 7-0 Rafters loss to the Eau Claire Express.  Held to just five hits, the Rafter’s pitching hit a speed bump in the middle innings, surrendering six runs in the fifth and sixth. Starter Matt Baudino (La Verne) allowed the first two runs of the fifth before exiting the game with the bases loaded. Reliever Tommy Organ (North Florida) struggled in his Rafter’s debut allowing two more to cross the plate before he secured the final out of the fifth. Organ gave up two more in the sixth to set the final score at 7-0.

 

Duluth 7, Willmar 4

The Stingers dropped the second leg of a two game set with the Duluth Huskies 7-4 Sunday night at Bill Taunton Stadium.  The Stingers tallied 11 hits in total and every member of the Willmar lineup reached base at least once.  Leading the charge offensively for the Stingers was first baseman Andrew Haake (Nebraska-Kearney).  Haake was 2-for-4  with an RBI, raising his average to .300 on the year.  Cedric Pomerlee (Alcorn State) was steady in his Willmar debut, getting a no-decision after going five innings allowing two unearned runs.  For the second straight night it was the Huskies’ Cody Asche delivering the knockout punch for Duluth.  Asche had a two-run homer in Saturday night’s game and added a go ahead three-run shot in the top of the seventh Sunday to put the Huskies up for good.

 

St. Cloud 9, Brainerd 4

The St. Cloud River Bats pounded out 15 hits and outlasted the Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers 9-4, finishing off a sweep of their North Division rival and pulling into a first place tie with the Thunder Bay Border Cats.  Brandon Boykin (Rutgers) finished 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI as the River Bats recorded 27 hits during the two-game series with the Lunkers. Kevin Hall (Wichita State), John Schultz (Pittsburgh) and Armando Gutierrez (Missouri Baptist) all recorded two-hit games for the Bats.  Andy Berry (West Virginia) got the start and earned the win in his debut for the Bats, allowing four runs on six hits over six innings. Sean Woolard (Missouri Baptist) tossed two scoreless innings in relief and Ryan Doyle (Arizona) pitched a perfect ninth to preserve the win.