ROCHESTER, Minn. (June 8, 2012) — Home advantage continued to be a trend in Friday night’s action as seven of the eight home teams walked away victorious. The Willmar Stingers are the only team to defeat the red-hot Waterloo Bucks so far in 2012 and they continued that habit on Friday.
La Crosse 8, Eau Claire 1
The Loggers were led by Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night Bo Henning (Sacramento CC). Henning threw six shutout innings and struck out nine Express batters to earn his second win of the season. The Loggers travel to Green Bay for the weekend as they’ll play the Bullfrogs on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The Express will host the Madison Mallards at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday.
Alexandria 9, St. Cloud 12
The Rox were led by Northwoods League Player of the Night Phil Imholte (St. Cloud State) who went 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored. The Rox and Beetles finish this series on Saturday in St. Cloud with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Joe Faber Field.
Mankato 3, Thunder Bay 1
Blaire Moore (Cal Baptist) continues to have a hot bat for the MoonDogs. Moore was 2-for-4 with an RBI in this close matchup. The MoonDogs will host the Rochester Honkers at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday while the Border Cats will host the Willmar Stingers at 6:05 p.m. ET.
Rochester 1, Duluth 9
The Huskies were led by James Ramsay (South Florida) who went 3-for-6 with an RBI and one run scored, and Michael Suiter (Kansas) who knocked in three RBI. The Huskies will hit the road to face the Waterloo Bucks at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday.
Wisconsin Rapids 2, Wisconsin 3
The Woodchucks were walk-off winners again. Friday, the win came on Jacob Jelmini’s (College of the Canyons) RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to win the game 3-2. The Rafters will host the Lakeshore Chinooks on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. start. The Woodchucks will travel to Battle Creek for a 7:05 p.m. ET start.
Battle Creek 2, Lakeshore 7
The Chinooks rode the bat of Eric Aguilera (Illinois State). Aguilera was 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Aguilera crushed a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to put Lakeshore up 6-0.
Willmar 10, Waterloo 4
The Stingers were led again by shortstop Hunter Dozier (Stephen F. Austin) who went 4-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored on the night. Michael Suchy (Florida Gulf Coast) added a grand slam in the game and recorded five RBI as the Stingers went on to win this one by a score of 10-4. The Willmar Stingers, the only team to beat the Bucks so far in 2012, took down Waterloo again by a score of 10-3.
Madison 1, Green Bay 4
The Madison pitching staff of Taylor Black (Texas State), Will Landsheft (Drury) and Elliott Waterman (University of San Francisco) shut down the Mallards allowing just one run and striking out 10 in the 4-1 victory.