St. Cloud is the last undefeated team in the Northwoods league while Wisconsin lost their second straight game on a walkoff wild pitch. Not a sentence you can say every day.
Waterloo routed Alexandira behind player of the night Logan Sherer while Rochester downed Eau Claire behind the arm of pitcher of the night Nick Gruener.
St. Cloud 5, Willmar 4
The Rox became the last undefeated team in the Northwoods league as they downed Willmar, 5-4. The Rox broke open a 2-2 tie with a three-run sixth and fended off the Stingers rally to earn the win. Matt Rodgers (Evansville) earned the win, going five innings and striking out four while allowing just two runs. RBI singles from Liam Bedford and Danny Baer in the fifth were the deciding factors in the Rox win. Dalton Sawyer (Minnesota) picked up a three inning save while allowing just one hit and striking out three.
Kalamazoo 5, Battle Creek 1
A four-run fourth inning was more then enough offense for the Growlers as they downed the Bombers, 5-1. Kalamazoo earned their second straight win as Shane Bryant (Purdue) went six strong innings, allowing just one run on two hits. He outdueled Battle Creek lefty Tanner Tully (Ohio State), who was pounced on in the fourth. Cody Leichman (Central Michigan) led off the inning with a solo home run and the Growlers tacked on three more to go up for good.
Thunder Bay 7, Duluth 5
The Border Cats handed Duluth their third straight loss to the season after scoring two runs in the bottom of the 8th to down the Huskies, 7-5. Duluth jumped out to a 3-1 lead as they got on the board early against Huskie starter Riley Sanderson (North Alabama). However, Thunder Bay fought back to tie it at five with a four-run sixth inning. The Border Cats got to Duluth again in the 8th, this time against reliever Patrick McGrath (Belmont). McGrath gave up two unearned runs and that was enough as he was handed the loss. Thunder Bay reliever Kevin Woebke (Concordia) threw two scoreless innings to get the win while Devin McLemore (Winston Salem St) picked up the save.
Rochester 3, Eau Claire 1
Nick Gruener (Harvard) struck out seven over seven innings of one-run ball to lead the Honkers to a 3-1 win over the Express. Gruener was strong, allowing just three hits and walking one to earn the win. John Conquy (Dixie State) came on and threw two innings of one-hit ball to earn the save. Eau Claire starter Cal Eldred allowed two runs- just one earned- over five innings. However, he took the loss as an error in the third gave Rochester a 2-1 lead that they kept for the rest of the game.
Waterloo 12, Alexandria 1
The Bucks routed the Blue Anchors, winning 12-1 to hand Alexandria their third straight loss. Waterloo scored four runs in the fourth and three runs in both the fifth and sixth en route to a convincing 11-run win. Logan Sherer (Charlotte) had a monster game at the plate for the Bucks, driving in six runs and going 4-5 with a pair of doubles and four runs. Cody Sedlock (Illinois) earned the win after going five innings and allowing just one earned run. A duo of Bucks relievers finished the game and all three combined to limit the Blue Anchors to four hits.
Green Bay 4, Kenosha 2
The Bullfrogs handed Kenosha their first loss of the season as Green Bay jumped ahead early and didn't look back in a 4-2 win. The Bullfrogs had back-to-back RBI singles in the second to go ahead 2-0 and they stayed in front. Ethan Rosebeck (Pima CC) went six innings and gave up just two earned runs whilee striking out three to earn the win. Pat Porter (Ohio State) hit a solo home run for the Kingfish but it wasn't enough. Josh Glick (Nova Southeastern) had a two-inning save for the Bullfrogs.
Lakeshore 4, Mankato 2
The MoonDogs stretched a unearned run inning streak to 20 but the Chinooks came back from an early 2-0 deficit to win 4-2. After Mankato scored a run in each of the first two innings, Lakeshore tied it with a two-run third inning. Chinook starter Connor Jones (Georgia) left after the third and reliever G.J. Strauss (Florida Tech) replaced him with five shutout innings to earn the win. Luke Lowery (Southern Mississippi) came on in the ninth and struck out three batters to earn the save.
Wisconsin Rapids 5, Wisconsin 4
Yesterday, the Woodchucks lost to La Crosse in the bottom of the 15th inning on a bases loaded wild pitch. There was deja vu against the Rafters as reliever Tim McElroy (Purdue) gave up his second straight walkoff- on a wild pitch. Rafters right fielder Michael Jurgella (St. Cloud State) came home on the wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth. Issac Behme got the win for the Rafters, going three innings and allowing one earned run. Wisconsin Rapids starter Matt McClain got the no descision after going six innings and allowed three runs- no earned- while striking out seven.
Madison 7, La Crosse 5
The Loggers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning but the defending champion Mallards came back and pushed ahead to take it, 7-5. Neither starter made it out of the fifth inning- Madison's Alex Pondick got the win after going 4.1 innings while allowing four runs while La Crosse's Westin Stringer (Jones CC) walked seven over four innings and allowed six runs to take the loss. Tim Black picked up his first save for the Mallards- a two inning save where he didn't allow a hit while striking out four.
Fridays schedule (All games at 7:05)
La Crosse @ Madison
Mankato @ Lakeshore
Battle Creek @ Kalamazoo
Kenosha @ Green Bay
Eau Claire @ Rochester
Wisconsin Rapids @ Wisconsin
Alexandria @ Waterloo
Duluth @ Thunder Bay
Willmar @ St. Cloud
