Friday night's Northwoods League action displayed several close games. With zero blowouts during the full nine-game slate, many of the evening's ballgames were decided late in the contest with three games finished in extra innings, and all were won by the road teams.

Kenosha 2, Lakeshore 1

The Kenosha Kingfish defeated the Lakeshore Chinooks 2-1 on Friday night in an incredible pitching performance from both teams. Kenosha recorded three hits, while Lakeshore finished with four in the game. The Kingfish scored two runs in the top of the third inning with a pair of wild pitches. Lakeshore scored its lone run in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI groundout that scored Matt Johnson (South Dakota State). Kingfish starting pitcher Alex Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky) allowed one run that was not earned, two hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings of work for the win to improve to 1-1 in five starts.

Mankato 4, Duluth 1

The Mankato MoonDogs scored three runs late to break the tie wth the Duluth Huskies for a 4-1 victory on the road. Duluth tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the sixth before the MoonDogs grabbed two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth. Jake Shepski (Notre Dame) hit a sacrifice fly to score Alvaro Rubalcaba (Cal St. Northfield) from third base. In the eighth, Jordan Washam (La Tech) walked with the bases loaded to extend Mankato's lead to three runs. MoonDogs' starter Ricky Digrugilliers (Western Illinois) improved his record to 3-1 on the season with a 0.76 earned run average, as he allowed one run on seven hits and two walks over six innings with four strikeouts.

Battle Creek 3, Rochester 2

The Battle Creek Bombers scored the game-winning run in the eighth inning to defeat the Rochester Honkers 3-2 at home. Battle Creek got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-RBI triple from Daniel Jipping (Central Michigan). Rochester scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to tie the game at 2 before Jipping hit a sacrifice fly to break the tie and give the Bombers a 3-2 advantage. Battle Creek starter Jordan Horak (Portland) finished with a no decision but struck out nine batters and allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings of work. Edgar Sanchez (Prairie View A&M) picked up the victory in 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Eau Claire 7, Thunder Bay 2

The Eau Claire Express rallied for five runs in the top of the eighth inning to defeat the Thunder Bay Border Cats 7-2 on the road. Eau Claire scored two runs in the top of the third with a two-run homer from Cody Bohanek (UIC). He finished the game 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Thunder Bay scored a run in the fourth and seventh before a big inning for the Express. In the eighth, scored five runs, capped off by a bases-loaded, three-RBI double from Austin Guzzo (Iowa). Eau Claire pitcher Austin Schulfer (Milwaukee) threw six innings and allowed one unearned run on two hits and three walks with six strikeouts for a no decision. Bryce Hensley (UNC-Greensboro) earned the win with three innings of relief work.

St. Cloud 7, La Crosse 5

The St. Cloud Rox survived a late rally from the La Crosse Loggers in a 7-5 road victory. The Rox scored two in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to six runs for a 7-1 score before the Loggers nearly came back in the bottom half of the inning. Mason McCoy (Iowa) homered to start the inning, followed by a run-scoring triple from Grant Fennell (Nevada), and he scored on a double hit by Lorenzo Hampton Jr. (California), who scored a few batters later on a groundout, but the comeback came up short. St. Cloud improved its winning streak to 10 games win the win. Matt Shannon (Angelo State University) improved to 3-0 and lowered his earned run average to 0.47 in three starts. He threw seven innings and allowed one run on three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.

Wisconsin Rapids 5, Rockford 4

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters came back from a four-run deficit to defaet the Rockford Rivets 5-4 in 11 innings on Friday night. Rockford jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first five innings with a run in the first, two in the fourth and one in the fifth. The Rafters got on the board in the seventh and rallied for four runs to tie the game. Following a sacrifice fly to start the scoring, Demetrius Sims (Bethune-Cookman) ripped a bases-clearing triple to tie it all up at 4. The game went into extras, and Rob Calabrese (Illinois-Chicago) recorded the game-winning hit to give the Rafters a 5-4 advantage. Cameron Busby (Georgia College) threw six innings of relief and allowed just one run to pick up the victory for Wisconsin Rapids.

Wisconsin 8, Madison 5

The Wisconsin Woodchucks had a big five-run third inning in a winning effort, as they defeated the Madison Mallards 8-5 on the road. Wisconsin scored a run in the top of the first to open up the scoring, and Madison came right back with a run in the second before the Woodchucks rallied for five runs to take a 6-1 advantage. The Mallards answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but Wisconsin recorded a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth. Madison rallied for three in the bottom of the eighth, which was not enough to beat the Woodchucks. Wisconsin starter Jonah Dipoto (UC-San Diego) earned the win, allowing two runs on six hits and four walks with a strikeout over seven innings of work.

Waterloo 9, Willmar 5

After the first nine innings of the game, the game was tied at five, but the Waterloo Bucks used one big slam in the top of the 10th inning to defeat the Willmar Stingers 9-5 on the road. Trailing 5-3, Waterloo scored a pair of runs in the eighth to tie the game at five runs apiece on a two-run homer for Adam McGinnis (Western Illinois). After a few scoreless innings, McGinnis stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the 10th and smashed a grand-slam home run that wound up being the game-winner. McGinnis hit 3-for-6 with six RBI and two runs scored.

Green Bay 6, Kalamazoo 5

In the longest game of the night, the Green Bay Bullfrogs outlasted the Kalalamazoo Growlers 6-5 on the road Friday night. The game went 13 innings and was completed in 4 hours, 38 minutes. Kalamazoo scored a run in the eighth and another in the ninth to tie the game at four and send it into extra innings. Both teams scored a run in the 10th, and the game remained tied at five until the top of the 13th inning. Green Bay Marcus Shoemaker (Lenoir Rhyne University) walked to lead off the frame and advanced to second on a passed ball. Brian Lees (Southeast Missouri State) singled to score Shoemaker from second, as the Bullfrogs won the game.

Saturday's Schedule

Battle Creek @ Kenosha (6:05 PM)

Mankato @ Thunder Bay (6:05 PM)

Willmar @ La Crosse (6:05 PM)

Rochester @ Kalamazoo (6:05 PM)

Rockford @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM)

Wisconsin Rapids @ Lakeshore (6:35 PM)

Madison @ Green Bay (6:35 PM)

St. Cloud @ Eau Claire (6:35 PM)

Waterloo @ Duluth (6:35 PM)