Madison and Willmar split a double-header while Eau Claire had no problem in a 9-1 victory to keep first place in the Northern Division. Lakeshore added a shutout of Green Bay to hand the Bullfrogs their third straight loss. Battle Creek won their third in a row while St. Cloud dropped their fourth in a row as Duluth won in the top of the 12th.

Willmar 7, Madison 6 (Game 1, 7 innings)

A three-run seventh from Madison almost erased a deficit as the Stingers committed three errors but Willmar escaped with a 7-6 win. AJ Puckett (Pepperdine) gave up six runs, just two of which were earned as he picked up the complete game win. Jack Ross (Pepperdine) and Dan Motl (Minnesota) both hit home runs while Reagan Fowler (Creighton) picked up three RBIs for the second time this season. 

Madison 5, Willmar 0 (Game 2, 7 innings)

Madison bounced back to pick up a double-header split in inter-division play. A four-run fourth was more then enough for the Mallards as Rob McDonnell (Illinois) went six shutout innings and struck out five in his fifth win of the season. Pete Alonso (Florida) came up a double short of the cycle as he drove in three runs for the third time in his past four games and multiple runs for the fourth straight day. Alonso hit a three-run home run as a part of the four-run fourth.

Mankato 11, Thunder Bay 4

The MoonDogs bounced back from a four-run Border Cats fifth and erupted for eight runs over the next four innings to easily pick up the victory. Thunder Bay was held to just four hits on the day and managed just one over the last five innings. Jacob Westerhouse (North Alabama) lowered his season ERA to 1.92 in 17 appearances as he struck out four in his fourth win of the season. Peter Maris (UC Santa Barbara) hit his first home run of the season, then added his second on a five-RBI night that gave him NWL Player of the NIght honors.

Waterloo 6, Alexandria 1

A four-run eighth broke open a two-run game and the Bucks ran away with an easy 6-1 victory. Cody Sedlock (Illinois) struck out seven and gave up just one unearned run over six innings for his fourth win, his second six-inning start in a row. Kevin Kaczmarski (Evansville) drove in all four of his runs with a grand slam. Kaczmarski picked up his third four-RBI day and now has picked up a RBI in five of his last six games. It was Waterloo's third straight win in a row.

Lakeshore 3, Green Bay 0

NWL Pitcher of the Night Joe Pavlovich (UW-Oshkosh) struck out eight over five shutout innings and gave up just three hits as the Chinooks downed Green Bay, 3-0. The Bullfrogs picked up just five hits and were held in check by a trio of Lakeshore pitchers. Closer Andrew Elliot (Wright St) picked up his tenth save of the season with a scoreless ninth. Three different players picked up RBIs- Brett Sidall (Cansius) and Ryan Krill (Michigan St) both slugged RBI doubles.

Battle Creek 9, Wisconsin 5

Battle Creek and Wisconsin combined for three four-run innings with the Bombers coming out on top, 9-5. An early 9-1 lead put Battle Creek up and the Woodchucks couldn't complete a rally late. Three different Bombers picked up multi-RBI days, including a four-hit, three-RBI day from David Richards IV (Savannah St). Sebastian Diaz (Miami) hit a two-run home run and starter Kyle Slack (Toledo) gave up one run on five hits while striking out five to pick up the win. 

Eau Claire 9, Rochester 1

Eau Claire outhit the Honkers 14-4 and easily ran away with a 9-1 victory. Drew Turbin (Dallas Baptist) hit a home run on a three-hit, four-RBI day and scored twice for the Express. He hit a three-run blast in the seventh, a four-run inning for Eau Claire. Peter Hendron (Santa Clara) went seven strong innings and gave up just one run on four hits while striking out five. Five different Express added RBIs to keep the Express in first place by a game. 

Wisconsin Rapids 8, Kenosha 6 (10 innings)

Keelin Rasch (Louisiana Monroe) hit a RBI double and Campbell Wear (UC Santa Barbara) added a sacrifice in the top of the tenth as the Rafters downed the Kingfish, 8-6. Rasch finished with four hits and two RBIs as well as two runs scored while teammate Michael Jurgella (St. Cloud St) added a home run and finished with two RBIs and two runs scored. Derek Kawlewski (Rhode Island) picked up the win in relief with two shutout innings, his first of the season.

Kalamazoo 5, La Crosse 4

Despite out-hitting the Growlers, 10-9, La Crosse couldn't overcome an early four-run deficit. Karl Sorensen (St. Cloud St) hit a three-run home run as a part of a four-run first to carry Kalamazoo to the win. Sorensen finished with four RBIs on a three-hit night while teammate Troy Montgomery (Ohio State) scored twice. Joshua Buchalski (Michigan St) picked up his first win of the season in relief while teammate John Schreiber closed it out in just his second appearance of the day. 

Duluth 5, St. Cloud 4 (12 innings)

A RBI single from Dominic Brugnoni (Florida Southern) in the top of the 12th handed St. Cloud their fourth straight loss. Brugnoni finished with four hits and a two-run home run from Keach Ballard (Oklahoma) carried Duluth to a 5-4 win. Steve Villines (Kansas) threw three shutout innings in relief to pick up his third win on the season. 

Friday's Schedule: (all games at 7:05 unless otherwise noted)
Madison at Willmar (4:30)
La Crosse at Kalamazoo
Wisconsin Rapids at Kenosha
Battle Creek at Wisconsin
Alexandria at Waterloo
Duluth at St.Cloud
Eau Claire at Rochester
Willmar at Madison
Mankato at Thunder Bay
Green Bay at Lakeshore