In the final day of the 2015 regular season, the playoff matchups have been set for Monday's inaugural Wild Card matchups. The Rox swept Kenosha in a battle between both number one seeds in each division, while Madison took down La Crosse, earning the second seed in the South. In the North Division, St. Cloud will host Rochester while Willmar faces off against the visiting Duluth Huskies. Crossing over into the South, Kenosha will play the fourth seed La Crosse Loggers and Madison will battle it out with Green Bay. All divisional semifinal games are scheduled for 7:05 PM.
Rochester 7, Alexandria 4
In the final tune-up before Rochester’s playoff matchup in St. Cloud, the Honkers snapped their five game losing streak, keeping an effective offensive attack in splitting their series against Alexandria. The Honkers offense was led by a Big Ten duo of Matt Fiedler (Minnesota) and Scott Schreiber (Nebraska), who combined for four hits and six RBIs, as each player recorded home runs in the win. Saving their arms for tomorrow, Rochester used a platoon of pitchers in the victory, as reliever Marcus Ethen (Nebraska-Omaha) recorded his first win, throwing two innings, allowing a run on just one hit, striking out a pair of batters. Alexandria’s Drew Fearing (North Dakota State) finished the 2015 season on a six game hit streak, registering a pair of hits and scored twice, as the Blue Anchors completed their season with a 30-42 overall record.
Thunder Bay 6, Duluth 1
The Border Cats scored five runs in the 5th inning, as it proved to be the difference, knocking off the postseason-bound Huskies, ending their year on a high note, finishing 5th overall in the North with a 33-38 mark. Dan Rizzie (Xavier) finished off his campaign in style, owning a 24 game hit streak to end the year, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI, while Mikael Mogues (Seton Hall) added a pair of hits and RBIs. Starter Johnny York (St. Mary’s) took home the final win of the 2015 season, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one, improving to 3-1 to end the season. Huskies’ leadoff man Danny Lee (Manatee) pushed his hit streak to nine games, going 2-for-4 with a run, as Duluth will travel to Willmar to face off against the Stingers for the divisional semifinals tomorrow.
Kalamazoo 6, Lakeshore 2
Despite possessing the worst overall record in Northwoods League history, the Growlers ended 2015 on a high-note, defeating Lakeshore on the road to end the season at 17-55. Justin Fletcher (Northern Illinois) completed his second year as a Growler on a 17 game hitting streak, driving in three RBIs, while right fielder John Soteropulos (California) touched home three times in the win. Starter Andrew Shepherd (Jackson College) earned his first win of the season, throwing 5 1/3 innings, allowing a pair of runs on three hits and striking out four, while Alex Kuisel (Academy of Art) went the rest of the way, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, giving up a pair of hits and striking out two, notching his first save of the season. Lakeshore’s leadoff man Anthony Massicci (Canisius) went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the loss, finishing the year with 22 RBIs, as the Chinooks rounded out their 2015 season at .500 at 36-36.
Madison 10, La Crosse 7
In a battle between two teams that will play tomorrow in the South Division semifinals, Madison took the finale in La Crosse, in an offensively dominated contest. Madison’s J.J. Gould (Jacksonville) contributed four hits and four RBIs in a stellar performance at the plate, and All-Star Anthony Gonsolin (St. Mary’s) provided three more hits to his team-high 78, and drove in a pair of RBIs, while also tossing the final two innings in relief, earning his second save. Justin Watts (Northern Kentucky) earned his fifth win of the season, advancing to 5-2, surrendering two earned runs, four hits, and struck out a batter. La Crosse’s Jordan Zimmerman (Mesa C.C.) went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and two RBIs, as the Loggers battle Kenosha for a one-game elimination tomorrow at 7:05 PM for a place in the South Division title game.
Wisconsin Rapids 8, Green Bay 7
The Rafters scored five runs in the bottom of the 8th to sweep the playoff-bound Bullfrogs, and pick up their franchise-record 33rd win of the season. Rapids’ center fielder Ernie Clement (Virginia) carried his team to the comeback win, going a perfect 4-for-4, and scored three times, while All-Star 3rd baseman Brock Carpenter (Seattle) contributed a pair of hits and drove in a run. Reliever Austin Paisar (Sacramento City College) collected his first win, throwing a scoreless top half of the 8th, striking out two batters, while Justin Kelly (UC Santa Barbara) closed the door with a shut out 9th inning, picking up his second save. Green Bay’s Danny Rosenbaum (Louisville) totaled two hits and scored twice, while knocking in an RBI, as the Bullfrogs will travel to Madison for the South Division semifinal on Monday night.
Mankato 10, Eau Claire 1
In the last game of the season for both teams, Mankato cruised to victory in their final contest, blowing out the visiting Express for the series sweep and completing a 33-39 in the North. MoonDogs’ David Metzgar (Cal State Bakersfield) and Kyle Weston (James Madison) connected for four hits and four RBIs, while Brinn Bell (St. Ambrose) served up three hits and an RBI. Starter Reece Eddins (Nebraska) totaled his second win in over a month span, giving 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing a run on four hits, and striking out three. Express 1st baseman Travon Benton (New Mexico J.C.) finished his 2015 season getting on base three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk in the loss, as Eau Claire ended the year in last place amongst the North Division with a 29-42 overall record.
St. Cloud 10, Kenosha 6
Bringing the 2015 Northwoods League regular season to a close, the Rox took the series sweep against the South champion Kingfish, setting a Northwoods League record for wins in a half, recording their 30th of the season. Brandon Benson (Georgia College) led his team to victory, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two walks, while Austin Athmann (Minnesota) supplied two RBIs in the win. St. Cloud’s Brett DeGagne (North Dakota) entered out of the bullpen in the 8th to record his fourth win of the year, throwing 2/3 of an inning and striking out a batter, moving to 4-0 on the year. Kingfish outfielder Eric Filia (UCLA) smashed his sixth home run of the season, finishing with a pair of RBIs, as Kenosha hosts La Crosse tomorrow for the playoff opener, beginning at 7:05 PM.
Willmar 5, Waterloo 3
As Willmar hosts the inaugural Northwoods League wild card against Duluth, the Stingers rounded out their regular season on a positive note, winning their fifth straight game and sweeping the Bucks. Eddie Estrada (Minnesota) led his team to victory, hitting a three-run shot in the 6th inning, giving him 31 RBIs on the year. Starter Tyler Heitmann (Bethel) collected his first win of the season, hurling six innings of work, giving up just one run on one hit, and striking out a season-high seven. Waterloo’s Matthew James (Illinois) completed the 2015 season as the star in the loss, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored once, as the Bucks struggled mightily in the second half, which led to the conclusion of 2015 with a 31-41 record.
Battle Creek vs. Wisconsin (Cancelled)
Tonight’s matchup between Battle Creek and Wisconsin has been cancelled due to inclement weather. The Bombers completed their 2015 season at 27-44, while the Woodchucks finished off their year at 24-47.
Monday’s Schedule (Divisional Wild Card)
North Division
Rochester @ St. Cloud 7:05 PM
Duluth @ Willmar 7:05 PM
South Division
La Crosse @ Kenosha 7:05 PM
Green Bay @ Madison 7:05 PM
