Thursday night's full slate of Northwoods League action featured a few blowouts as well as three one-run games. Following the games, the Duluth Huskies, Mankato MoonDogs, Kenosha Kingfish and Madison Mallards remained undefeated at 3-0, while the Thunder Bay Border Cats, St. Cloud Rox and Rochester Honkers still seek their first victory.
Kenosha 11, Green Bay 1
The Kenosha Kingfish and Green Bay Bullfrogs had quite the pitching duel going, as the Kingfish held a 1-0 lead after seven innings. Kenosha erupted for nine runs in the top of the eighth to blow the game open. The Kingfish sent 14 batters to the plate, and the Bullfrogs committed three of their five errors in the inning. Despite the 11 runs, the Kingfish recorded just six hits. Righthander Charlie Hecht (Georgia College) pitched seven shutout innings on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts for the victory for Kenosha.
Madison 8, Rockford 5
The Rockford Rivets led the Madison Mallards by a run until Madison scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning. Trailing 5-4, the Mallards scored four unearned runs to take an 8-5 advantage. Four Madison batters recorded multiple hits, including Cameron Frost (Washington State) hit 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. For the Rivets, Ricardo Ramirez (UIC) finished 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and a run batted in in the loss. Mike Reitcheck (Penn) earned the win for Madison, who improved to 3-0 on the season.
Mankato 12, Rochester 2
The Mankato MoonDogs got out to a fast start and tallied 15 hits in the game, as they defeated the Rochester Honkers 12-2. A five-run second inning put Mankato ahead 7-0 going into the third inning of play. After the seventh, the MoonDogs led 12-0 before Rochester added a pair of unearned runs on a two-RBI single from Alex Fitchett (Hawaii) in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ricky Digrugilliers (Western Illinois) threw six shutout innings and allowed three hits and no walks with five strikeouts to earn Thursday's Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night.
Wisconsin Rapids 13, Wisconsin 3
Wisconsin Rapids Rafters had a big hitting night on Thursday with 14 hits and 13 runs, as they blew out the Wisconsin Woodchucks at Witter Field 13-3. Rafters' shortstop and leadoff hitter Jake Lumley (Canisius) hit 4-for-5 with two runs and two runs batted in. Chris Cooper (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) earned the victory for Wisconsin Rapids over five innings of work. Cooper allowed one run, which was not earned, on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
Willmar 8, Eau Claire 4
The Willmar Stingers came out swinging a hot bat early in their 8-4 victory over the Eau Claire Express on Thursday night. Willmar scored three runs in the first inning, four in the second and added another in the third to take an 8-2 lead, and the Stingers held on to win. Danny Pardo (Montevallo) and Travis Wacker (Oklahoma State) each recorded three hits for Willmar, who earned its first victory of the 2016 season. Gage Hutchinson (Daytona State) struck out six batters and earned the win, and reliever Jake Rothwell (Daytona State) picked up the save for the Stingers.
Battle Creek 8, Kalamazoo 7
The Battle Creek Bombers rallied for a string of runs in the late innings to complete the comeback against the Kalamazoo Growlers. Trailing 6-2 in the Battle Creek scored six runs combined in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Battle Creek leftfielder Daniel Jipping (Central Michigan) earned the Northwoods League Position Player of the Night award on Thursday for his performance in which he hit 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored. He also hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eight inning to tie the game at 7.
Duluth 7, Thunder Bay 3
The Duluth Huskies improved their record to a perfect 3-0 following a 7-3 victory over the Thunder Bay Border Cats on Thursday at Port Arthur Stadium. Duluth leadoff centerfielder Daniel Gardner (San Diego) finished with a game-high four hits with three runs scored and two RBIs. The Huskies used a four-run fourth inning to separate themselves from Thunder Bay and put them ahead 6-0. Lefty Logan Browning (Florida Southern) picked up the victory over five innings. He allowed two earned runs on on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
La Crosse 4, St. Cloud 3
The St. Cloud Rox scored three runs in the top of the first, but the La Crosse Loggers scored four unanswered runs the rest of the game to win 4-3 on Thursday night. La Crosse scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning with back-to-back solo home runs from David Jacob and Luis Trevino (Navarro JC). The Loggers recorded two more solo home runs in the fifth from Brandon Larkin-Guilfoyle (Davenport University) and Kevin Collard (San Diego). Zack Kesterson (Duke) threw 7 2/3 shutout innings in relief for La Crosse and allowed just two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts to earn the win.
Lakeshore 6, Waterloo 5
The Lakeshore Chinooks defeated the Waterloo Bucks 6-5 in the top of the 10th inning. Waterloo tied the game at 5 in the bottom of the ninth on a RBI groundout. Matt Johnson (South Dakota State) flew out to shortstop to score Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) for the game-winning sacrifice fly. Duncan recorded four hits and scored a run for the Chinooks. For Waterloo, Tyler Curtis (Lynn University) hit 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored in the defeat.
Friday's Schedule
Rockford @ Madison (6:35 PM)
Battle Creek @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)
St. Cloud @ La Crosse (7:05 PM)
Wisconsin Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 PM)
Duluth @ Thunder Bay (7:05 PM)
Lakeshore @ Waterloo (7:05 PM)
Eau Claire @ Willmar (7:05 PM)
Kenosha @ Green Bay (7:05 PM)
Rochester @ Mankato (7:05 PM)
