Rochester, Minn (July 3rd, 2013)–With the first half coming to a close on Wednesday, the South Division still needed a champion. With a tie for first place, the Madison Mallards and La Crosse Loggers squared off in a winner-take-all contest. By a 12-2 margin, the Madison Mallards claimed victory and won the first half. Mike Reuvekamp (California) was huge in the win as he went 2/4 with four RBI out of the 9th spot in the lineup.

There were many incredible first-half performances that will be remembered. In 22 games and 87 at-bats, Carter Burgess (Sam Houston) of Rochester hit .471 with nine doubles. In the home run category, nobody could best Jackson Slaid (Montevallo) who hit nine for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. As far as RBI, the performances of Drew Weeks (North Florida) of the Madison Mallards and Matt Tellor (Southeast Missouri) of the Wisconsin Woodchucks led to a tie at 34. Weeks accomplished the feat in just 25 games while hitting .379.

On the pitching side, the first half belonged to Luke Staub (George Washington) of the Madison Mallards. Staub threw 33.2 innings and allowed just three earned runs for an ERA of 0.80. While he was twice a tough-luck loser, Staub’s great strikeout-to-walk ratio of 30:6 was an example of his dominance of hitters in the league throughout the first half.

Lakeshore 8, Eau Claire 3

After being eliminated, the Chinooks looked to Wednesday as a starting point for the 2nd half stretch run. They scored early and often on their way to a win over the Express. Ryan Krill (Michigan State) was 2/3 with three RBI and two runs scored as he was responsible for clean-up duty.

Willmar 7, Duluth 0

After they eliminated each other on Tuesday night, the Stingers and Huskies met for one final first half showdown. Behind starter Michael Murray (Florida Gulf Coast), the Stingers dominated the Huskies in all facets of the game. Murray held the Huskies scoreless over seven innings while allowing just three hits on the night.

Waterloo 2, Mankato 1

On Tuesday, the Waterloo Bucks clinched the first half North Division title. On Wednesday, they began work on continuing their great season. TJ Renda (Alabama State) allowed just one run over seven innings on four hits while striking out five batters to get the win. His 2.52 ERA on the season was a big factor in the Bucks pulling out the first half title.

Wisconsin Rapids 12, Green Bay 2

The Rafters put on a show for their fans in the first half finale in Wisconsin Rapids. Jackson Slaid (Montevallo) ended his monster first half with a bang as he hit two home runs and drove in five RBI. He ends the first half with nine home runs and 28 RBI, and he was a big factor in the Rafters being close in the race at the end.

Battle Creek 3, Wisconsin 2

The Bombers got a pair of home runs from Mike Goodson (Alabama) on their way to the win. Goodson drove in all three runs in the game. Wisconsin’s Matt Tellor (Southeast Missouri) saw his incredible first half end with an out in his only at-bat. Tellor got off to an incredible start to the season and finished with six home runs and a league-leading 34 RBI.

Alexandria 9, Thunder Bay 8

The Blue Anchors got to end their season on a high note as they rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the 9th and defeat the Border Cats on Wednesday. The Blue Anchors banded together for a true team offensive effort as all nine starters recorded a hit and seven different players scored runs.

Rochester 4, St. Cloud 2

The Honkers also got to send their fans home in incredible fashion at the end of the first half. Trailing 2-0 with the bases loaded and nobody out, Jeff Campbell (North Dakota) came on to pinch hit. After taking the first pitch for a ball, Campbell launched the next pitch he saw over the wall for a walk-off grand slam to end the first half for the Rochester Honkers.

Thursday Schedule:

La Crosse vs. Wisconsin Rapids- 3:05
Lakeshore vs. Green Bay- 4:05
St. Cloud vs. Duluth- 5:05
Battle Creek vs. Wisconsin- 5:05 (Game 1)
Battle Creek vs. Wisconsin- 7:35 (Game 2)
Madison vs. Eau Claire- 6:05
Rochester vs. Waterloo- 6:35
Willmar vs. Alexandria- 7:05
Mankato vs. Thunder Bay- 7:05