Rochester, Minn (July 31st, 2013)–Wednesday was friendly to visitors of batter’s boxes across the Northwoods League. Offenses put on quite the show as pitchers struggled to keep runs off the board. On the night, six different teams reached the double-digit milestone with two offenses putting up gaudy numbers.
The Duluth Huskies put up the best performance on the night with 15 runs in their win over the Wisconsin Woodchucks. The Huskies scored eight times in the second inning and tallied 15 hits to bury the Woodchucks early.
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters found similar success, but they did it in front of their home crowd. The Rafters broke a scoreless tie with five runs in the fourth inning and then added a six run inning in the sixth. The drew nine walks and collected twelve hits in the win.
Lakeshore 8, Rochester 4
After being rained out on Tuesday, the Chinooks wasted no time in regaining their stride on Wednesday night against Rochester. Sawyer Polen (Kent State) turned in the big night for the Chinooks as he went 3/4 at the plate with two runs scored, four RBI, and his third home run on the season.
Duluth 15, Wisconsin 6
The Huskies scored eight runs in the second inning to bury the Woodchucks early on in Wednesday’s game. As an offense, they collected 15 hits and drew a staggering ten walks while demolishing Wisconsin pitching. Keith Curcio (Florida Southern) turned in a big night for the Huskies with three hits, which included his third home run as well as four RBI.
Eau Claire 5, Thunder Bay 2
After the Express blew a 2-0 lead in the eighth inning, they rebounded with three runs of their own to capture the win in Wednesday’s game. Jake Cole (Pima CC) turned in his best outing on the season with seven shutout innings and eight strikeouts.
Wisconsin Rapids 14, Alexandria 2
The Rafters scored five runs in the fourth and six runs in the sixth to gain a big edge on the Blue Anchors in the middle innings on Wednesday. Donnie Dewees (North Florida) turned in a big night on offense with two hits and three RBI. His efforts came in support of Brad Stroike (UW-Stevens Point) who tossed 6.2 innings and allowed two runs while striking out six.
Mankato 12, Green Bay 6
The MoonDogs scored runs in six different innings on Monday in their win over the Bullfrogs. The ‘Frogs made things interesting with five runs in the eighth to bring the score to 9-6, but the MoonDogs responded with three in the ninth and shut the door for the win. Bryan Bonnell (UNLV) made a great start as he went seven innings and allowed just one run while striking out eight.
La Crosse 10, St. Cloud 4
The top five hitters in La Crosse’s lineup all collected hits in the win on Wednesday. In fact, they combined for nine hits and ten RBI while scoring eight runs. The win helps the Loggers keep pace with the Chinooks in the South division.
Willmar 10, Madison 7
After the Stingers scored four in the top of the first, the Mallards responded with six int he bottom of the third. This lead did not last long as the Stingers answered with five runs in the fifth to regain the lead. Marc Flores (Hawaii) went 3/5 at the dish with four RBI and his 11th home run on the season.
Waterloo 10, Battle Creek 4
The Bucks showed tremendous patience and discipline in their win over Battle Creek on Wednesday. Despite collecting only five hits, the Bucks scored ten runs because they walked 12 times in the game. There were only two hitters in the Waterloo lineup that failed to draw a walk as the long trip did not seem to hurt the Bucks at all.
Thursday Schedule:
Thunder Bay vs. Eau Claire- 6:35
Duluth vs. Wisconsin- 6:35
Rochester vs. Lakeshore- 6:35
Waterloo vs. Battle Creek- 7:05
Alexandria vs. Wisconsin Rapids- 7:05
Willmar vs. Madison- 7:05
St. Cloud vs. La Crosse- 7:05
Mankato vs. Green Bay- 7:05