Rochester, Minn (August 4th, 2013)–Sunday afternoon was headlined by the presence of a few marquee match ups on the schedule. As teams continue to fight for a right in the playoffs, they will be faced with tough tests as they head into the final week of regular season play.

One of these match ups took place in La Crosse, where the Loggers met up with the Lakeshore Chinooks. The Loggers were able to score the decisive run in the eighth inning after the Chinooks had come back to tie it with two runs in two consecutive innings. Meanwhile in Wisconsin Rapids, the Rafters beat the Mallards in a shootout that ended up with a final score of 14-10.

With a week to play, the Waterloo Bucks lead the North Division. Since they won the first half, the second playoff spot becomes a race for best overall record. After Sunday, the Mankato MoonDogs and Duluth Huskies are tied with the Willmar Stingers sitting at one game out. In the South division, the Lakeshore Chinooks hold a two game lead with one week to play. They will have to hold off the surging La Cross Loggers, who are winners of eight of their last ten games. The Eau Claire Express are also deep in the thick of the race as they sit just 2.5 games out.

Willmar 6, Alexandria 1

The Stingers got a fantastic effort on the mound on Sunday as they took out the Blue Anchors. Andrew Woeck (North Carolina State) pitched a complete game and allowed zero earned runs and one hit. Woeck also struck out 12 batters as he completely baffled Alexandria hitters all night.

Wisconsin Rapids 14, Madison 10

After the Rafters got up 9-1 after four innings, it looked like they were going to cruise to a victory on Sunday. Before they could blink, the Mallards had a 10-9 lead after six and a half innings. Fortunately for the Rafters, they would push across five runs in the bottom of the seventh and grab the win. Donnie Dewees (North Florida) continued his strong season at the plate with a home run, three runs scored, and five RBI.

Wisconsin 6, Green Bay 5

After blowing the lead in the top of the ninth inning, the Woodchucks walked off in front of their home crowd on Sunday. Rob Bennie (Virginia) drove in the winning run with a base hit. Adam Kramer (St. Paul-Concordia) turned in a quality start on the mound as he allowed three runs over six innings.

La Crosse 5, Lakeshore 4

After they shut down the Chinooks for the first five innings, the Loggers allowed Lakeshore back into the game and found themselves tied at four going into the eighth. The Loggers were then able to push across the decisive run in the bottom of the eighth inning and shut the door in the ninth for the win. 

Battle Creek 6, Eau Claire 0

The Bombers played the role of spoiler on Sunday in their win over Eau Claire. With La Crosse and Lakeshore playing each other, the Express could have gained a game in the standings with a win, but instead they lost a game. Kenton San Miguel (Central Michigan) made the start on the mound and threw six shutout innings while allowing only three hits.

Rochester 9, Thunder Bay 6

The Border Cats looked to right the ship after giving up 27 runs to Mankato on Saturday, but they were unsuccessful in their endeavors. The Honkers gave up three runs in the first inning, but they responded with five runs in the top of the second and led the rest of the way. Kalei Hanawahine (Hawaii) collected three hits and drove in five runs out of the top spot in Rochester’s order.

Waterloo 12, Alexandria 1

The Bucks continue to stay hot in the second half, and it looks like they might be ready for a big run into the playoffs. Waterloo’s pitching staff used four pitchers to combine for ten strikeouts and just one run allowed as they dominated Alexandria on Sunday. John Ziznewski (Long Island) hit his third home run and drove in five in the win.

St. Cloud 9, Willmar 3

In a rare event for any baseball club, the Willmar Stingers played two different opponents in two different locations on Sunday. They weren’t as successful against the Rox as they were in their first game, however. St. Cloud had six different players drive in runs as they beat the Stingers convincingly.

Mankato 7, Duluth 5

In one of the biggest match ups of the day, the MoonDogs scored big in the middle innings to grab a win from Duluth. John Michael Twichell (UT-Arlington) continued his amazing second half as he belted his 16th home run and drove in two.

Monday Schedule (times listed are 7:05 unless otherwise stated):

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