Rochester, Minn (June 27th, 2013)–With the first half of the season nearing its end, both divisions in the Northwoods League find their races tight. As one might expect with tight races down the stretch, the games down the stretch are increasing in competitiveness as well.
The Waterloo Bucks and Lakeshore Chinooks both grabbed wins on Thursday to hold leads in their divisions. While the Willmar Stingers tripped up and lost, the Madison Mallards won to keep pace with the Chinooks in the South.
In other action, the Alexandria Blue Anchors were able to take a sweep from the Rochester Honkers, despite coming into the day with the worst record in the league.
Alexandria 3, Rochester 2 (F/7, Game 1)
After giving up an early run, Chase Rihtarchik (Michigan State) settled down and held the Honkers to just two runs over 6.1 innings while striking out six batters. Andrew Sohn (Western Michigan) recorded a pair of hits and drove in two runs in the win.
Alexandria 5, Rochester 3 (F/7, Game 2)
The Blue Anchors have had a rough go at it in 2013, but Thursday was a great day for the club as they won game two of their double-header against Rochester to seal the sweep. Spencer Koopmans (UC Davis) pitched six innings and allowed zero earned runs to get the win.
Duluth 3, Willmar 2
After losing their 1-0 lead by giving up two runs in the top of the 7th, the Huskies rallied for a run in the 8th and a run in the 9th to get a win on Thursday. Thomas Rogers (St. Scholastica) shut out the Stingers over 5.1 innings while allowing just four hits. After the run was surrendered, Nathan Garza (Oral Roberts) threw two shutdown innings to give his team the opportunity to win.
Eau Claire 7, Wisconsin Rapids 5
The Express sprinkled their runs over four innings to put on a consistent offensive attack against the Rafters on Thursday. Daniel Kihle (Wichita State) notched a pair of hits and drove in two runs to lead the attack. The Express bullpen was great in the win as they pitched four spotless innings.
Lakeshore 10, La Crosse 5
In a battle for first place in the South, the Chinooks emerged victorious. Lakeshore scored all ten of their runs in the first six innings. Sawyer Polen (Kent State) tallied three hits and drove in three RBI out of the lead off spot to lead the offense. The bottom of the order was huge in this one for the Chinooks as the last three hitters combined to go 8/15 with six runs and three RBI.
Madison 13, Wisconsin 6
The Mallards came into the bottom of the 7th inning with a 2-1 lead. they left it with a 12-1 lead. The ten-run inning was the bulk of Madison’s offensive attack, which was led by the middle of their order. The unit went 11/17 with eight runs and seven RBI in the route over the Woodchucks.
Waterloo 6, Thunder Bay 4
With the game tied at four heading into the ninth, the Bucks got a two-run single from Will Sparks (Washington) to grab the lead. John Ziznewski (Long Island) got three hits and scored twice in the win. The Bucks bullpen pitched five innings and allowed just one hit in the win.
Mankato 12, St. Cloud 11
The MoonDogs got a huge night from their offense in a close win over St. Cloud. Mankato was led by Jonathan Rodriguez (Oklahoma City) who hit a big three-run home run and totalled six RBI on the night in the win.
Green Bay 3, Battle Creek 2 (F/13)
The Bombers thought they were in the clear on Thursday night when they grabbed a late one-run lead in the 9th inning. Before they could blink, the Bullfrogs tied the game and sent it into extras. After a few scoreless frames, the ‘Frogs pushed across the winning run in the 13th.
Friday Schedule:
Willmar vs. Duluth- 6:35
Wisconsin vs. Madison- 7:05
Eau Claire vs. Wisconsin Rapids- 7:05
Waterloo vs. Thunder Bay- 7:05
Lakeshore vs. La Crosse- 7:05
Battle Creek vs. Green Bay- 7:05
Rochester vs. Alexandria- 7:05
St. Cloud vs. Mankato- 7:05
