Rochester, Minn (July 5th, 2013)–Friday marked the opening of another weekend in the Northwoods League. With three games decided by just one run, two extra-inning games and plenty of early scoring fans were not held short on entertainment.

In Madison, the Mallards swept a double header from the Eau Claire Express in front of their home crowd. With a pair of one run victories, which included an 11 inning affair in game one, the Mallards won twice in thrilling fashion.

In Green Bay, the Lakeshore Chinooks and Green Bay Bullfrogs were locked in yet another pitchers’ duel as the game was tied at one going into the 14th inning. After both starters combined to go 14 innings and allow just one earned run, the Chinooks pushed across the winning runs.

Madison 6, Eau Claire 5 (F/11, Game 1)

After the Express took an early 4-0 lead in the 2nd inning, the Mallards responded with four of their own runs and were tied by the end of the 3rd. After the Mallards took the lead in the 8th, they blew it in the 9th and were sent into extras. In the bottom of the 11th, Jeff Zahn (Indiana State) drove in the winning run.

Madison 4, Eau Claire 3 (F/7, Game 2)

All of the runs in this game were scored in the 3rd and 4th innings. Luckily for Madison, their three run effort in the 4th outmatched Eau Claire’s two run effort in the 3rd for the win. The Mallards bullpen pitched four innings without allowing an earned run to help seal the sweep of the double header.

Wisconsin 3, Battle Creek 2

After blowing the lead in the top of the 8th, the Woodchucks were able to push across the winning run in the 9th. Despite getting just four hits on the night, the ‘Chucks were productive when the opportunities came. Rob Bennie (Virginia) hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the offense.

St. Cloud 11, Duluth 5

The Rox put up a big offensive night thanks to one big offensive inning. A seven run third gave them an 8-1 lead that they never looked back from. Luke Weber (South Carolina Upstate) went 2/5 and drove in three runs in the win.

La Crosse 12, Wisconsin Rapids 6

The Loggers got out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and added a pair of three run innings later in the game just to be safe. Starter Collin Lee (Memphis) went six innings and surrendered just two earned runs on five hits while striking out five batters to get the win.

Waterloo 9, Rochester 3

Continuing the theme of early scoring on Friday, the Bucks scored six times in the first three innings of their match up with Rochester and didn’t look back. The Bucks had eight different players score runs and eight hitters recorded hits. Their bullpen was also fantastic as it allowed just one hit in five innings and allowed zero runs.

Thunder Bay 6, Mankato 4

After getting down 3-0 after four and a half innings, the Border Cats scored six unanswered runs before giving up a run in the top of the 9th. Thunder Bay was able to do a lot of damage on Friday offensively as they drew seven walks and struck out just five times.

Lakeshore 3, Green Bay 1 (F/14)

Outside of the 4th inning, where the two teams traded runs, and the 14th inning, where the Chinooks scored twice, this game was all about the pitching. The two starting pitchers combined to go 14 innings and allowed just one earned run on 11 hits while striking out eight batters. The Chinook pitching staff struck out 14 batters and walked just three in the effort.

Saturday Schedule:

Battle Creek vs. La Crosse- 6:05
Wisconsin Rapids vs. Madison- 6:05
St. Cloud vs. Mankato- 6:05
Willmar vs. Thunder Bay- 6:05
Lakeshore vs. Wisconsin- 6:35
Alexandria vs. Duluth- 6:35
Waterloo vs. Rochester- 7:05
Eau Claire vs. Green Bay- 7:05