The Northwoods League completed a total of 10 games on Thursday night with a full slate of games and a doubleheader between the Mankato MoonDogs and Rochester Honkers. The night's action saw a solid mix of lopsided victories and close games. Mankato scored 17, Kalamazoo had 12 and Wisconsin Rapids scored 15, while the Waterloo Bucks finished with a walk-off victory, and La Crosse won its game in the 11th inning.
Mankato 17, Rochester 0 – Game 1
The Mankato MoonDogs pounded the Rochester Honkers in Game 1 of their Thursday night doubleheader in just seven innings of play. Four Mankato batters recorded at least three hits in the game. Chase Hamilton (Austin Peay) and Jake Shepski (Notre Dame) each homered for Mankato. MoonDogs' pitcher Ricky Digrugilliers (Western Illinois) threw six shutout innings and allowed just one hit and two walks with four strikeouts. He has yet to allow a run this season in 12 innings pitched over two starts.
Rochester 9, Mankato 5 – Game 2
In the second game of Thursday night's doubleheader, the Rochester Honkers took down the Mankato MoonDogs 9-5 to split the two games. Rochester broke off a five-run bottom of the third inning to take a 7-2 advantage, and Mankato was never able to recover. Honkers' Christopher Scalisi (Redlands) recorded two hits on the night and knocked in three runs batted in. After the two games, Rochester moved to 4-6, while Mankato is now 6-4 so far in the 2016 season.
Kalamazoo 12, Green Bay 5
The Kalamazoo Growlers held onto an 11-0 advantage in the sixth inning before the Green Bay Bullfrogs scored in each of the final four innings. Kalamazoo pulled out the victory 12-5 on the road to improve to 6-4. Growlers' second baseman Sam Griggs (Southern Indiana) recorded three hits and scored two runs, and TJ Marik (Austin Peay) hit 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a run batted in. Tanner Andrews (Purdue) threw six innings and gave up one run on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts to pick up the victory for the Growlers.
Eau Claire 9, St. Cloud 3
The Eau Claire Express got off to a hot start on Thursday night in a 9-3 victory over the St. Cloud Rox. Eau Claire scored three right away in the bottom fo the first, one in the second and added two more runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 8-0 advantage. Zach Ashford (Fresno State) recorded two hits with two RBI and a run scored for the Express. Aaron Shortridge (California) went seven innings for Eau Claire and allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. St. Cloud's Trevor Putzig (Tennessee Tech) hit his first home run of the season with a two-run shot in the top of the seventh to put the Rox on the board.
Lakeshore 8, Madison 6
The Lakeshore Chinooks outlasted the Madison Mallards 8-6 in a back-and-forth game. The game went 11 innings and with a rain delay, it finished in the early morning hours of Friday. Lakeshore scored a run in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 4. After a scoreless ninth, the game reached extra innings. Chinooks' Alec Olund's (Purdue) sacrifice fly gave them a lead in the 10th, but Madison's Lucas Halstead (Pacific) led off the bottom of the inning with a home run. Lakeshore added three runs in the 11th highlighted by a two-run homer from Matt Johnson (South Dakota State). The Mallards scored a run in the bottom, but it was not enough to beat Lakeshore.
Wisconsin 4, Battle Creek 3
The Wisconsin Woodchucks held on to a one-run victory to defeat the Battle Creek Bombers 4-3 on the road at C.O. Brown Stadium. Battle Creek got on the board first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run home run for Christian Helsel (Penn State) for his first dinger of the season. Wisconsin's Mac Caples doubled in the top of the third to score two runs and tie the game, and the Woodchucks added two more in the next inning on four hits to open up a 4-2 lead. Battle Creek added one more in the sixth, but it was not enough to beat Wisconsin, who improved to 6-3 on the season.
Waterloo 2, Duluth 1
One of the most exciting wins of the night went to the Waterloo Bucks, who won Thursday night's game against the Duluth Huskies 2-1 on a walk-off victory. With the game all tied at 1 with runners on first and second base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Waterloo's Zach Fricke (Iowa) doubled, as Robert Neustrom (Iowa) came around to score from second to give the Bucks another win to improve their record to 8-2, which is good for first place in the North Division. Dan Loats (NIACC) pitched for Duluth and picked up a no decision. He threw seven shutout frames with four hits and two walks with six strikeouts in the loss.
La Crosse 5, Willmar 2
The La Crosse Loggers were outhit by the Willmar Stingers 10-6, but the Loggers picked up the victory 5-2 on Thursday night on the road. La Crosse got on the board first with a run in the top of the second inning, and Willmar tied the game at 1 with a run in the third. The Loggers broke out for a four-run fourth inning, highlighted by a three-run home run hit by Luis Trevino (Navarro JC) for his second homer of the year. Danny Pardo (Montevallo) hit 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored for Willmar, who left 13 runners on base in the loss.
Wisconsin Rapids 15, Thunder Bay 2
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters pounded out 19 hits in a 15-2 victory over the Thunder Bay Border Cats at home on Thursday night. Eleven batters recorded hits for Wisconsin Rapids, who improved to 6-3 on the season, while Thunder Bay remained winless. Chris Cooper (Texas A&M Corpus-Christi) was named the Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night for his performance for Wisconsin Rapids. He threw six innings and allowed a run on six hits with four strikeouts. Catcher Rob Calabrese (Illinois-Chicago) recorded four RBI for the Rafters.
Rockford 2, Kenosha 0
The Rockford Rivets got the best of the Kenosha Kingfish in a pitcher's duel on Thursday night on the road. The Rivets received great pitching performances from a pair of pitchers in the game. Starter Cole Bellair (University of Illinois) completed six innings of shutout baseball and allowed four hits and no walks with three strikeouts on the night. Bellair was relieved by Anthony Dahl (Arkansas), who finished the final three innings. He allowed no base runners and struck out two batters for the save. Despite receiving the no decision in the loss, Kenosha's Andrew Reisinger (McHenry CC) struck out eight batters and allowed three hits and a walk over six innings. Alex Maloney (Ball State) hit the first home run in Rockford's franchise history with a solo shot in the top of the eighth.
Friday's Schedule
Willmar @ Duluth (6:35 PM)
Kenosha @ Rockford (6:35 PM)
Waterloo @ Lakeshore (6:35 PM)
Eau Claire @ Mankato (7:05 PM)
Rochester @ St. Cloud (7:05 PM)
La Crosse @ Thunder Bay (7:05 PM)
Wisconsin @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)
Battle Creek @ Green Bay (7:05 PM)
Wisconsin Rapids @ Madison (7:05 PM)
