Three shutouts by the Stingers, MoonDogs and Chinooks were the highlights of the night along with a 19 run outburst by the La Crosse Loggers..
Green Bay 8, Kalamazoo 3
Tyler McDowell and Matthew De La Rosa both recorded three hits as the Green Bay Bullfrogs defeated the Kalamazoo Growlers 8-3 on June 6 at Joannes Stadium. Jack Silberman picked up the win in relief for the Bullfrogs as they improved to 5-6 on the season. Kalamazoo put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, but the Bullfrogs came back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second from two players making their season debuts. In his first game with Green Bay, Connor Ross grounded out to first to score Paul Jacobson, who reached on a walk. Also making his Bullfrogs debut was Desi Ammons, whose sacrifice bunt scored Tyler McDowell to give Green Bay a 2-1 lead. The Growlers plated a run in the third with a RBI single from former Bullfrog John Soteropulos, but Green Bay rallied for four runs in the bottom fourth inning. McDowell led off with a single, followed by a RBI double for Connor Ross. Two batters later, Ross scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jack Strunc, who advanced to third on an error. Caleb Ratzman bunted to the pitcher to score Strunc, and Ratzman came around to score on De La Rosa’s double. Kalamazoo scored another run in the fifth, and the game remained 6-3 until De La Rosa stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning. After taking two called strikes, De La Rosa took a big swing, and Growlers’ right fielder Stephen Letz watched the ball soar over the Leinenkugel’s Fan Deck for a two-run home run. De La Rosa finished 3-for-5 with a pair of extra base hits and three RBI.
Thunder Bay 14, Alexandria 1
Thunder Bay scored 14 runs on 16 hits on Saturday night. The Border Cats were led by Carter McEachern (Trinity) as he went 2 for 6 with a homerun, three runs scored and two RBI. Matt Batten (Quinnipiac) also had a huge night for the Cats as he was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBI. Jared James (Long Beach State) and Grant McKown (Florida Tech) each had three hits a piece for Thunder Bay.
Willmar 4, Madison 0
Stingers sweep Mallards behind Bailey's strong start, Southpaw goes six shutout innings to earn first win of season. In his second outing of the season, Bailey allowed just one hit as he gave the Stingers a strong foundation in what ended up a 4-0 Stingers win. In the fourth the Stingers offense only recorded one hit but translated that into three runs, which were more than enough for Bailey and the Stingers' bullpen. Dan Motl led the inning off with a walk, Sean Beesley singled and Storm Wilson brought Motl in when he reached on an error. Beesley would end up scoring on a wild pitch and Wilson corssed home on an RBI groundout by Tyler Leffler. The Willmar offense tacked on one more in the sixth inning to give more of a cushion to Bailey and the bullpen. It was more than enough, as the pitching staff held strong for its first shutout of the season.
Kenosha 7, Wisconsin Rapids 1
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters dropped their second straight game against Kenosha this season. While the first game was filled with late inning drama, the game Saturday night was all Kenosha for most of the evening. Kenosha scored seven runs in the first four innings, with three runs in the 2nd, one run in the 3rd, and another three runs in the bottom of the 4th inning. Rafters starter Derek Kawlewski (Rhode Island) was hit hard this evening as Kenosha got out to a 7-0 lead after four innings. Back-to-back RBI singles by Mitch Gasbarro (Eastern Illinois) and Jack Sundberg (UConn) started the scoring in the third for the Kingfish. The Rafters lone run came in the top of the eighth inning as a bases loaded groundout allowed Tyler Johnson (Navarro CC) to score from third. Shining on the mound for the Rafters was relief pitcher Dmitry Shtykher (Moscow). The Russian-born right-hander threw four scoreless innings in relief for Wisconsin Rapids, retiring the last ten batters in a row.
Mankato 5, Waterloo 0
The Waterloo Bucks (8-4) fell by a final 5-0 decision to the Mankato MoonDogs (4-8) Saturday evening at Franklin Rogers Park as the offense struggled to compile just four hits. Eric Veglahn (St. Thomas) took the loss on the mound after allowing all five MoonDog runs to cross in three innings of work. The Mankato offense pounded out four runs on four hits, including a two-run homerun, to widen the gap in the fourth frame. Zach McKinstry (Central Michigan) tallied a double in the loss to move his hitting streak to four games for Waterloo while Nick Veale (Minnesota St.-Mankato) and Landon Busch (South Dakota St.) collectively provided five innings of shutout ball out of the bullpen. The loss marked both the first road loss for the Bucks and the first victory for Mankato over Waterloo on the season. Strong pitching from Veglahn and Mankato starter Grant Hamilton (Oklahoma City) storied the first two innings as the two hurlers surrendered no hits and no walks to the opening batters in the lineups. Mankato plated their first run to go up 1-0 in the bottom of the third when Kevin Hall (North Alabama) scored on an errant ball thrown into centerfield intended to pickoff a stolen baserunner. The Moondogs opened the game up to a 5-0 advantage by piling up four runs on four hits in the fourth frame. After drawing a leadoff walk, Boomer Synek (Evansville) was brought in on a Paul Panaccione (Grand Canyon) two-run homerun into left field. Brinn Bell (St. Ambrose) and Kaden Moore (Indiana St.) each scored as well in the frame after both batters collected base-hits.
GM 1 (19 innings) Battle Creek 5, Lakeshore 4 – GM 2 Lakeshore 1, Battle Creek 0
The Lakeshore Chinooks played 17 innings of baseball on Friday night against the Battle Creek Bombers. Due to Mequon city ordinances, though, the game was suspended at 11:00 p.m. with the score tied at 4-4. The game was resumed on Saturday in the top of the 18th with Jesse Scholtens (Wright State) on the mound for the Chinooks. Making his first appearance for the team, he had a quick 18th inning but ran into trouble in the 19th. In the frame, Battle Creek DH Niko Pacheco (Cal State Fullerton) led off with a single. Later advancing to third, he then scored on a fielder's choice that was hit by Cayce Bredlau (Austin Peay) to put his team ahead 5-4. The Chinooks offense had little answer for Bombers reliever Michael Peterson (Riverside City College), who has twice been drafted by professional clubs. Showcasing a mid-90s fastball, Peterson threw two straight 1-2-3 innings to earn the win for his team.
After finishing Friday's suspended game earlier in the day, the team finally saw things calm down a bit on Saturday night, as they won a quick two hour and two minute pitchers' duel by a score of 1-0 against the Battle Creek Bombers. Lake Bachar (UW-Whitewater) had been arguably the Chinooks best pitcher heading into this start, posting a 1.00 ERA and striking out 16 in his 9.0 innings pitched. He continued the dominant streak in his start against the Bombers on Saturday, throwing 7.0 shutout innings, giving up just one hit and no walks while striking out eight. The only time that Bachar really faced any trouble came in the top of the sixth. Cayce Bredlau (Austin Peay) led off the inning by reaching second on an error from Bachar, and he later advanced to third with two outs. Nevertheless, the Chinooks escaped the inning unscathed. Alex Hermeling (Louisiana-Monroe) had a brilliant start of his own for the Bombers, throwing 8.0 innings and giving up just an unearned run on two hits and no walks while striking out four. The only time that the Chinooks managed to get to him was in the bottom of the seventh, and that was not even Hermeling's fault. Zarley Zalewski (Kent State) reached with two outs in the inning on an error by shortstop Trey Walsh (Belmont), and Doug Kraeger (Richmond) then made the Bombers pay for their error by driving in Zalewski with a single.
La Crosse 19, Wisconsin 10
The Wisconsin Woodchucks and La Crosse Loggers tallied a combined total of 22 runs and 23 hits in the first four innings at Athletic Park Saturday, but the hitting would cool down and the Chucks would eventually lose 19-10. Wisconsin got their first two runs on back-to-back RBI doubles from Max Ponzurick and Ryan Howard in the first, and the Chucks would get three more runs in the second. However, the Loggers notched five runs in the first two frames as well, and the game was tied going to the third. The Loggers plated four runs in third and four more in the fourth behind eight hits in the two frames. Jordan Zimmerman knocked in four of those eight runs off a double and a single, and he proceeded to score two of those runs himself. Mason McCoy was the only man to score more than Zimmerman, crossing home plate five times and gathering four hits. The Woodchucks matched the Loggers with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a three-RBI double for Ryan Day. He and Ryan Howard both put together outstanding performances Saturday night, as Howard accumulated four hits and four RBIs on the evening. From there, the offense stalled for Wisconsin. The Chucks only crossed one more run as La Crosse continued the hitting assault to win 19-10.
Duluth 9, Eau Claire 7
After multiple rain delays and a ninth inning rally from the Express the Huskies held on to win on Saturday night. The Huskies had 14 hits on the night and were led by Jean Figueroa (West Florida) as he went 3 for 5 with a homerun, two runs scored and two RBI.
Rochester 6, St. Cloud 3 – Suspended in the bottom of the 3rd inning
Saturday’s Rox game versus the Honkers has been suspended due to unplayable weather conditions. At the time of the suspended game the score was 6-3 with the Honkers leading in the bottom of the third inning with no outs and the bases full for the Rox. The game will be concluded on June 15th starting at 5 p.m. The second game will be a seven-inning contest following the end of the first game.
Tomorrow's Games
1:05 Thunder Bay Border Cats at Rochester Honkers
1:05 Mankato MoonDogs at St. Cloud Rox
1:05 Battle Creek Bombers at Green Bay Bullfrogs
1:05 Madison Mallards at Kenosha Kingfish
5:05 Wisconsin Woodchucks at Lakeshore Chinooks
5:05 La Crosse Loggers at Alexandria Blue Anchors
5:05 Kalamazoo Growlers at Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
5:05 Waterloo Bucks at Eau Claire Express
6:05 Duluth Huskies at Willmar Stingers