Rochester, Minn (August 12th, 2013)–The 2013 Northwoods League Playoffs began Monday night with Lakeshore hosting Madison and Waterloo travelling to Duluth. The advantage of playing on one’s home field was on display Monday as the home squads took both games.
In the case of Lakeshore, they made a statement in game one against Madison with their 15-0 drubbing of the Mallards. In Duluth, the Huskies managed to upset the heavily-favored Waterloo Bucks.
Lakeshore 15, Madison 0
After the game was scoreless through three and a half innings, Lakeshore opened the flood gates with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Andrew Stevenson (LSU) set the tone on offense out of the lead off spot. Stevenson collected three hits and drove in four runs.
While the offense was busy at work, Joe Greenfield (Eastern Illinois) put on a show on the mound. Greenfield pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just six hits and one walk while striking out three. The bullpen followed him with two spotless innings to clinch the shutout.
The loss puts Madison in a big hole, as they will have to come back off of this loss and win two games in a row to advance. After a 15-0 pounding, the Mallards have a lot to overcome.
Duluth 5, Waterloo 2
The Huskies found themselves down 2-0 to the best team in Northwoods League history through half of Monday’s game. Starting in the bottom of the fifth, the Huskies launched a comeback in which they scored five unanswered runs and upset the Waterloo Bucks.
Clay Chapman (Florida Southern) was one of the best pitchers in the league during the regular season, and his performance continued into game one. Chapman threw six innings and allowed one earned run on three hits while striking out four batters. The Duluth bullpen followed with three scoreless innings.
Trey Vavra (Eastern Illinois) drove in the big run in the seventh inning to put the Huskies up late. For Waterloo, they will head back home with two must-win games. Fortunately for them, winning at home is what they are best at.
Tuesday Schedule:
Duluth (Heissler) vs. Waterloo (Rhodes)-6:35
Lakeshore (Faix) vs. Madison (Hovis)-7:05
