Rochester, Minn (June 8th, 2013)–The league played its second Saturday of the season and a little extra baseball was on the schedule. In Wisconsin Rapids, the Lakeshore Chinooks continued to roll after getting off to a shaky start on the season. Their offense, which had been struggling, scored 13 runs in two games to lead them to a sweep of Wisconsin Rapids.
In Rochester, the Thunder Bay Border Cats got seven shutout innings of relief from John Havird (Mesa CC). The performance came after Rochester had gotten a fantastic starting effort the night before.
In Battle Creek, the Bombers found a way to slow down Matt Tellor (Southeast Missouri) and held on for an 8-4 victory.
Lakeshore 9, Wisconsin Rapids 7 (Game 1)
The Lakeshore offense appeared to officially get out of its funk on Saturday as the Chinooks scored six times in the first inning and never looked back. They would add three more runs in the eighth to seal the win. Ryan Solberg (Milwaukee) had a big night as he hit a home run and drove in three RBI.
Lakeshore 4, Wisconsin Rapids 2 (Game 2, F/8)
The Chinooks scored twice in the top of the eighth to take a victory out of the hands of the Rafters on Saturday. Donnie Hissa (Notre Dame) pitched three scoreless innings in relief and allowed no hits while striking out four batters.
Waterloo 12, St. Cloud 2
The Bucks put up eight runs in the sixth inning and walked away with a road win. Chesney Young (Mercer) had a big night as he went 4/4 at the plate with three runs scored.
La Crosse 5, Green Bay 2
The Loggers did their scoring early and often as they cashed in for five runs in the first four innings. Collin Monsour (California) pitched another great game on Saturday as he allowed zero earned runs in 6.2 IP and struck out seven Bullfrogs.
Madison 3, Eau Claire 1
This game was all about the Mallard pitching staff, which used four pitchers to limit the Express to zero earned runs while recording ten strikeouts. Jamie Nunn (Appalachian State) pitched five innings and earned the victory.
Willmar 4, Duluth 2
Abe Bobb (San Francisco) followed up Friday’s incredible comeback with a dominant pitching performance. He limited the Huskies to just two runs in eight innings and allowed only six hits. After coming out for the ninth, he wasn’t quite able to finish the job, but he still earned the victory.
Battle Creek 8, Wisconsin 4
The Bombers were able to tame the Woodchuck offense on Saturday. Three different pitchers appeared for Battle Creek and were able to strike out nine Woodchucks. Matt Fears (Valdosta State) turned in a strong offensive performance as he collected a pair of hits and drove in two runs.
Alexandria 5, Mankato 3
Chase Rihtarchik (Michigan State) turned in a great outing on Saturday as he allowed only one run over seven innings of work. He picked up the win after getting a no-decision in his last outing and now owns a season ERA of 1.50.
Thunder Bay 3, Rochester 1
The Border Cats scored three times in the top of the seventh after spending the majority of the game down 1-0. John Havird (Mesa CC) pitched an incredible seven scoreless innings in relief while only allowing three hits.
Sunday Schedule:
St. Cloud vs. Rochester- 1:05
Lakeshore vs. Wisconsin Rapids- 5:05
Waterloo vs. Thunder Bay- 5:05
Green Bay vs. La Crosse- 5:05
Mankato vs. Duluth- 5:05
Wisconsin vs. Battle Creek- 5:05
Willmar vs. Alexandria- 5:05
Madison vs. Eau Claire- 5:05