Brainerd 4, Willmar 4
The Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers closed out their four-game home stand with a win as they defeated the Willmar Stingers 7-4 on Sunday afternoon at Mills Field. Charlie Henderson (Regis) picked up his first win of the season for the Lunkers. He went 5.0 innings, giving up two runs and striking out eight. After three innings of relief from James Farris (Arizona), Ray Black (Pittsburgh) came on in the 9th inning to record his first save of the season for the Lunkers. Vince Bruno (California) collected two hits and an RBI from the leadoff spot this afternoon.
Mankato 7, Rochester 3
The Mankato MoonDogs cut their magic number down to one after defeating the Rochester Honkers 7-3 Sunday afternoon at Mayo Field. The MoonDogs offense scored seven more runs Sunday, totaling 25 runs over 18 innings against Rochester during the two game series. Sam Lind (Vanderbilt) had another solid day at the plate for Mankato going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Blake Schwartz (Mankato State) walked three batters and struck out five over 7.0 innings of work. With the win today, the MoonDogs are now 21-9 on the season and have a chance to clinch their third first half championship in four years at Franklin Rogers Park, Monday night.
Green Bay 9, Waterloo 1
Mark Garcia (UC Riverside) had to pitch around a number of jams for the Bullfrogs on Sunday afternoon, but he only gave up only one run over 6.1 innings. Kyle Lindquist (Marietta) then came in for the save throwing 2.2 innings out of the bullpen to give Green Bay the 9-1 win over the Waterloo Bucks in the two-game series sweep. Paul Hoenecke (Wisconsin Milwaukee) hit a double and drove in a run for the second straight game.
Duluth 11, Thunder Bay 7
The Duluth Huskies rallied for 11 runs in the final two innings of Saturday’s contest to top the Thunder Bay Border Cats 11-7 at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay. Duluth trailed 7-0 in the top of the 8th inning, and were able to put two runs on the board to spark the rally. The Huskies bats continued to stay hot in the 9th inning, as they were able to capitalize for nine more runs to take the game, and splitting the two game series with Thunder Bay. Marcus Riewer (Minnesota-Duluth) scored two runs and had three hits in five at-bats. Jacob Wise (Arkansas) and Chris Manship (Kansas) each finished the night 2-for-5.
La Crosse 12, Wisconsin 4
The La Crosse Loggers took the second game of a two-game series against the Wisconsin Woodchucks 12-4 on Sunday night. 2,708 made their way to Copeland Park for the game and saw the Loggers win their seventh consecutive game. The win also completed the third sweep in a row of an opponent, with the Eau Claire Express, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, and recently, the Wisconsin Woodchucks being in the Loggers path. On a beautiful Sunday night, Jon Surber (Clemson) got the start for the Loggers and pitched 5.1 solid innings. Surber earned the win going 5.1 innings and allowing four runs to score on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. The Logger offense continued to stay hot as they have in the previous six wins. The Loggers recorded a season high 17 hits. Trevor Brown (UCLA) led the way, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. The Loggers evened their season record to 15-15 with just three games to go in the first half.
Battle Creek 7, Madison 4
After losing to the Madison Mallards in extra innings on Saturday night, the Bombers left the series 1-1 with a convincing 7-4 win at Warner Park on Sunday night. Leading 1-0, the Bombers kept the Mallards scoreless until the fourth when Matt Junegal (Texas A&M) hit a homerun over the two-story party deck in left field off Bombers starter Alex Loftin (Akron); it would be the only run he surrendered. Battle Creek pulled away there after with solo runs scoring in the sixth and seventh, and Matt Hitt (Eastern Michigan) put the Bombers over the edge in the eighth with a three-run homer. Loftin made his third excellent start in a row and was credited with his first win, giving up just a run through seven innings.
Eau Claire 5, Wisconsin Rapids 1
The Eau Claire Express got a much-needed sweep of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. With the first half of the season winding down, the Express needed to win these games to have a chance heading into the final series with the Madison Mallards. The Express defeated the Rafters, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon at Witter Field. Ryan Knott (Duke) gave the Express a solid start on the mound and the bullpen did the rest. Knott went 5.0 innings and gave up only one run on three hits and struck out five batters. Josh Scheffert (Nebraska) made his first appearance on the mound and gave the Express three scoreless innings and did not give up a hit. Miguel Silva (Yavapai) pitched the ninth inning in his first appearance in over a week and gave up two hits, but did secure the victory.
