Thunder Bay 5, Brainerd 3

The Border Cats improved their second half record to 2-1 Saturday night in Brainerd with a 5-3 victory over theLunkers.  Trailing 3-2, the Cats scored once in the 8th inning to tie the game and pushed across two unearned runs in the 9th to take the opener of the three game series.  Casey Selsor led the way offensively, going 3-4 with a pair of doubles while Kevin Taylor went 2-for-4.  Reid Rooney picked up the win in relief to improve to 2-1 as he pitched 2.1 shutout innings allowing one hit and striking out one.  Newcomer Joseph Koon notched his first save by pitching a scoreless ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts.  Cat’s starter John Lally went 5.2 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits.  The southpaw walked four and struck out. 

Alexandria 9, Mankato 2

The Mankato MoonDogs lost to the Alexandria Beetles Saturday night, 9-2 at Franklin Rogers Park. Alexandria scored five runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back as they took game one of the three game series. One of the bright spots of the game for the MoonDogs was Shaun Cooper’s home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, which was his 11th of the season, which broke the MoonDogs single season home run record, which was previously held by Carlos Ramirez. Jordan Remer suffered the loss for ‘Dogs from the mound as he struggled early in the first inning, walking four Beetle batters, giving up five runs, and eventually his pitch count became to high and MoonDog Manager Mike Orchard had to pull him. For the Beetles, pitcher Jon Reed pitched six complete innings giving up one run on five hits and striking out two.

La Crosse 10, Green Bay 8

In an offensive battle the Green Bay Bullfrogs fell to the La Crosse Loggers on Saturday Night 10-8. The ‘Frogs trailed by as much as six in the game but pulled to within two and put the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning. The Loggers would bust the game open in the fourth with four runs as they knocked out the Bullfrogs’ starter Mark Garcia with one out in the fourth. The first four hitters reached safely in the inning including Trentt Copeland who hit a three-run no doubt home run. The top four hitters in the ‘Frogs line-up all had at least two hits.  Jacob May continued his hit streak, which is now at seven games with a 4-4 day. Green Bay made the game interesting in the eighth and ninth innings. The ‘Frogs were down 10-5 before they scored three runs in the final two frames.

Wisconsin Rapids 7, Madison 2

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters took care of the Mallards Saturday night with a 7-2 win. A single run in the top of the first gave new Rafters starter Augey Bill a lead to work with. Bill took that lead and posted three straight scoreless innings before allowing a pair of unearned runs in the fourth. The 6-foot-8 lefty allowed just three hits to Madison over five full innings to secure his first win in the Northwoods League. Cody Koback singled home a run, then scored on an RBI double off the bat of Sam Montgomery. Koback ended the night with two hits, a run and an RBI while Brandon Hohl notched a pair of hits, scored a run and drove in one. After the stellar five innings from Bill, reliever Kevin Wild faced the minimum over the sixth, seventh and eighth.

Waterloo 5, Eau Claire 4

The Express blew another late inning lead Saturday night, this time falling to the Waterloo Bucks, 5-4. Heading into the ninth inning, the Express held a 4-2 lead over the Bucks and brought in closer Evan Zerff. Zerff gave up the lead though, giving up three runs in 1/3 of an inning and the Express were handed the defeat. It was another game in which the Express out hit their opponent, but they committed four errors in the field. With the loss of closer Miguel Silva, the Express have now blown late leads on back-to-back nights on the road. Nick Addison led the way for the Express with three hits and Travis Wilcox had two hits in his second start behind the plate this season.

Battle Creek 5, Wisconsin 3

The Bombers opened their series with the Wisconsin Woodchucks with a 5-3 win on Saturday night at C.O. Brown Stadium, putting the season series at 4-2 in Battle Creek’s favor. The Woodchucks took an early 3-0 lead before the Bombers got on the board, but they rallied to score pairs of runs in the fifth and seventh, and a single run in the sixth. Jordan Dean picked up 2 RBIs, while Jimmy Martinez and All-Star selection Danny Rockett also added to their totals. Chad Jasman made his first start in weeks and threw four innings, allowed three runs and three hits, while walking two and fanning four. Caleb Vincent, who the Bombers signed just two days ago, threw three scoreless innings, and Ryan Halstead notched his fourth save.

Rochester 4, Duluth 3

The Rochester Honkers returned to Mayo Field for the first time in six days and for the first time in the second half to take on the Duluth Huskies. The Honkers squeaked by with the win by a score of 4-3, upping their second half record to 2-1. The Honkers continued their success against Duluth, as they had the Huskies number in the first half, sweeping a two game series in early June.  Aaron Siefken got the start on the mound for the Honkers making his sixth start and seventh appearance on the season.  He pitched 6.2 innings allowing nine hits and one earned run, getting his first win on the season and improving his record to 1-3. Austin House finished up the game for the Honkers, picking up his second save of the season. Davy Wright went 3-for-3 with a run scored and one RBI on the day, upping his average to .281 on the season.  Scott Thornburg drove in the deciding runs for the Honkers with a two-run homerun in the seventh inning.

St. Cloud 8, Willmar 6

Offense took center stage in Willmar, Saturday night. The Bats and Stingers accounted for a combined 14 runs and 24 hits inSt. Cloud’s 8-6 victory. 
In a game that showcased the two team’s run scoring potential, an outstanding pitching effort helped the Bats secure victory. Bryan Peters continued to excel on the mound to conquer his first NWL win. Peters threw 3.1 scoreless innings in relief, striking out six Stingers.
 Travis Unthank tossed a scoreless ninth to close out the win for St. Cloud.