With a full slate of nine games on Sunday's schedule, offenses shined across the Northwoods League. On the final day prior to the All-Star break, 10 of 18 teams recorded seven runs or more. Teams will be off for three days before returning to action on Thursday.
La Crosse 4, Lakeshore 1
The La Crosse Loggers jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on to defeat the Lakeshore Chinooks 4-1 at home on Sunday afternoon. La Crosse scored its first run of the game with a RBI-double from Justin Wylie (San Diego State) to score Gavin Johns (UCLA). The Loggers increased their lead to four with another run-scoring double, followed by a fielder's choice and an error that plated a pair of runs. Lakeshore's Matt Johnson (South Dakota State) homered in the bottom of the seventh for the only run of the game for the Chinooks. Jack Ralston (UCLA) threw five scoreless innings and allowed four runs and a walk with one strikeout to pick up the win.
Rockford 10, Kalamazoo 8
The Rockford Rivets rallied for six runs in the fifth inning to defeat the Kalamazoo Growlers 10-8 on the road Sunday. Rockford found itself trailing 6-1 after four innings before the Rivets scored six runs capped off by a grand slam hit by Hunter Hargrove (Texas Tech) for his sixth home run of the season. Kalamazoo grabbed the lead right back with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it an 8-7 game. The Rivets answered with a two-run homer from Gavin Johnson (Rice) and added another insurance run in the ninth for the 10-8 victory.
Duluth 11, Thunder Bay 8
The Duluth Huskies exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning to defeat the Thunder Bay Border Cats 11-8 at home. Thunder Bay took an early 5-0 lead with four runs in the top of the first inning and another in the second. Duluth scored a run in the third, fourth and fifth innings to cut the deficit to two. The Border Cats scored twice in the top of the sixth, but the Huskies sent 11 batters to the plate for the seven-run inning to take a 10-7 lead. Thunder Bay outhit Duluth 14-9, and its designated hitter Michael Papierski (Louisiana State University) hit 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored in the loss.
Waterloo 5, Willmar 3
The Waterloo Bucks went through seven pitchers in a 5-3 home victory over the Willmar Stingers. The game was tied at two after four innings, and the Bucks scored twice in the bottom of the sixth. In the top of the seventh, Willmar scored a run to cut the lead to one before Waterloo scored the last run of the game with one in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 5-3 final score. In addition to using seven pitchers, Waterloo was outhit 9-7, lost the error battle 2-0 and still came away with the win.
Madison 4, Kenosha 1
The Madison Mallards allowed just four base runners in a 4-1 home victory over the Kenosha Kingfish. Madison's starting pitcher Mitchell Kilkenny (Texas A&M) threw eight innings and allowed one unearned run on two hits and zero walks with six strikeouts to pick up the victory. Kilkenny improved to 4-0 and lowered his earned run average to 0.28 in five starts. Mallards' Nelson Maldonado (Florida) led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run for his first homer of the season. Madison scored another run later in the inning, and Kenosha got in the board with a run in the top of the fourth, but Madison added two to make it a 4-1 game after four innings.
Green Bay 9, Battle Creek 7
The Green Bay Bullfrogs came back from a 7-0 deficit, and scored nine unanswered runs to beat the Battle Creek Bombers 9-7 at home on Sunday night. Battle Creek scored five runs in the top of the first inning, followed by one in the second and another in the fifth to make it a seven-run deficit. Green Bay cut the lead to one in the bottom half of the fifth with a six-run rally and tied the game with a run in the sixth. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bullfrogs completed the comeback with a pair runs to take a 9-7 advantage.
Rochester 6, St. Cloud 4
The Rochester Honkers held a 6-0 advantage and held on to beat the St. Cloud Rox 6-4 on the road Sunday night. Rochester scored twice in the third inning, once in the fourth and scored three in the fifth for the six-run deficit. The Rox rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to two for the final score of the game. Shortstop Keaton Weisz (Auburn) hit 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored for the Honkers. Rochester starter Max Gamboa (Pepperdine) threw five scoreless innings and allowed two hits and a walk with four strikeouts to pick up the win.
Wisconsin Rapids 14, Wisconsin 7
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters doubled up the Wisconsin Woodchucks by a score of 14-7 on the road Sunday night. Wisconsin Rapids pounded out 13 hits, and eight batters recorded hits for the Rafters. Catcher Scott Kapers (Valparaiso) hit 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored, while Doak Dozier (Virginia) finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI. Wisconsin Rapids starting pitcher Nick Belzer (Des Moines Area CC) threw four innings and allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in a no decision. Blair Lakso (Buffalo) picked up the win in two scoreless innings of relief, as he allowed one hit and struck out two batters.
Mankato 10, Eau Claire 9
The Mankato MoonDogs scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Eau Claire Express 10-9 at home in a back-and-forth game on Sunday night. Both teams combined for 30 total hits in the game, and Eau Claire outhit Mankato 17-13. All nine players in the MoonDogs starting lineup recorded at least one hit. Mankato rightfielder Chase Hamilton (Austin Peay) hit 3-for-4 with a walk, three RBI and three runs scored with a pair of home runs. Leftfielder Jake Shepski (Notre Dame) finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in the victory.
Monday's Schedule
Home Run Derby @ Kenosha – 6:30 PM
