The defending champion Wisconsin Rapids Rafters began with a win tonight at home defeating Kenosha 3-0. There were also two new Northwoods League teams that began play tonight. The Bismarck Larks beat Eau Claire 2-1 and the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders fell to Madson 11-6. 

Eau Claire 1, Bismarck 2 

The Bismarck Larks picked up its first win of their inaugural season when they got to the Express bullpen in the seventh for a run and scored once more in the ninth for a walk off. Both starting pitchers threw scoreless baseball for their teams. Ethan Nichols (Air Force) pitched six innings for Eau Claire, only giving up five hits while striking out two. Ryan Byrd (Creighton) went one more inning than Nichols as he threw seven, with three hits and struck out 10. David Salguiero (LSU Shreveport) broke the scoreless game by knocking in Cullen Smith (East Tennessee St.) on a two out RBI single in the seventh. Justin Evans (Columbus State) tied the game for the Express when their was a pickoff attempt at first base. Smith then delivered the game winning hit in the ninth for the Larks with a single that drove in Quinn Irey. 

Kenosha 0, Wisconsin Rapids 3

The Rafters did all of the scoring as they put up a two spot in the third and added one more in the eighth for a shutout victory over the Kenosha Kingfish. With one out in the third, Bryson Stott (UNLV) knocked in Tyler Krabbe (Montevello) with a single to center. Two pitches later, the Kingfish commit an error on a pickoff attempt which sent Shaq Robinson (Sacramento City CC) home to score. Mitchell Mallek (St. Cloud State) then drove in Jake Guenther (Texas A&M CC)  for the third and final run for the Rafters in a 3-0 victory. Jack Eagan (Madison College) picked up the win for the Rafters as he threw six scoreless innings on one hit, two walks and struck out seven. Rapids held the Kingfish to only one hit as Layne Henderson picked up the save while throwing two strikeouts. 

Rockford 1, Kalamazoo 5 

The Kalamazoo Growlers hung a five spot in the third which would be enough to edge the Rockford Rivets 5-1. Nick Hutchins (Southern Illinois) got things going for the Growlers in the third with a two RBI double. The next batter Colin Boerst (Hillside College) hit is own two RBI double to left field. With two outs in the inning, Jake Gleason (Grand Valley State) knocked in Boerst with an RBI single. The Rivets scored its only run in the fifth from a single by Tyrell Neal. The Growlers did give up nine hits to the Rivets, but the bullpen pitched four scoreless to secure the victory. 

Lakeshore 5, Battle Creek 3

The Lakeshore Chinooks needed 13 innings to defeat the Bombers as they scored twice in the top of the 13th. The Chinooks scored first in the fifth when Caleb Dean (Lamar) reached on a single, stole second and came around to score. The Bombers answered in their half of the sixth when they got runs from the heart of their lineup. The Chinooks chipped away by scoring once in the seventh and forcing extra innings in the ninth when Kody Matthews (Marshall) scored on a wild pitch. Jacob Richardson (Southern Arkansas) and Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State) then each scored in the 13th while Nick Campe (Olivet Nazarene) closed out the game with two scoreless innings to get the win. 

Thunder Bay 1, Willmar 12

The Willmar Stingers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first and never looked back as they chased the Thunder Bay Border Cats starter out after only one inning of work. Every Stinger reached safely in the 12-1 victory. After being down 6-0 early, the Border Cats got its first run of the game in the fourth when Gabriel Lozada (Hillsborough CC) scored on a fielders choice. The Stingers answered in the next two innings by scoring three runs in fifth and sixth each including a two run home run by Caleb Ledbetter (Montevallo). After the starting pitcher for the Stingers, Jake Rothwell (Daytona State), threw six and only gave up one run, the bullpen threw three scoreless to close out the game. 

Fond du Lac 6, Madison 11

The Madison Mallards used three home runs to defeat the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders in an 11-6 victory. Doran Turchin (Illinois) hit the first of three in the opening inning which resulted in a three-run bomb. The Dock Spiders cut its deficit to two in the third on an RBI double from Andrew Bullock (Western California), but the Mallards answered in the bottom half when Weimer Brock (SIUE) hit a two-run shot. Madison scored four more times in the next inning while adding its third home run of the game from Cade Bunnell (Madison College) which drove in three. The Dock Spiders got to the Mallards' bullpen in the eighth and the ninth, but the deficit was too much for them to come back. 

Waterloo 5, St. Cloud 4 

The Waterloo Bucks were down 3-0 until they got to the St. Cloud Rox bullpen and exploded for a four run sixth inning and ultimately won the game 5-4. The Rox connected on a two-run double in the third inning and added another in the fifth which chased the starter for the Bucks out of the game. The Bucks then got its first run of the game with a bases loaded walk. Waterloo then scored on a balk and a two-run run single to give them the lead. A big insurance run came when Jay Schuyler (San Diego) delivered an RBI single. The Rox had the go ahead run at the plate, but Alec Hernandez (Lynn) closed out the game with a strikeout for the Bucks. 

Wisconsin 1, Green Bay 7

The Green Bay Bullfrogs defeated the Woodchucks 7-1 thanks to an early two run home run from Alex Pener (Scottsdale CC) in the second inning. Green Bay would score in each of the first three innings to carry a 5-0 lead into the fifth. The Woodchucks finally got on the board when Nolan Ryan (Henderson State) knocked in Kyle Mrozinaki (UWSP) with an RBI single. The Bullfrogs answered back in the bottom the of inning which resulted in the final score. Jared Tobey (Wayne State University) threw six innings only giving up one earned on four hits while striking out five for the win. 

Duluth 9, La Crosse 2

The Duluth Huskies scored six in the first two innings which proved to be enough to defeat the La Crosse Loggers 9-2. The Huskies hung five right away in the opening inning to chase the Logger's starter out of the game after only one inning of work. Duluth got one more in the second and didn't score again until the ninth when they put up a three spot that gave them a comfortable seven run lead. Starting pitcher Ryan Cunningham (Minnesota Duluth) for the Huskies worked five, gave up one earned on three hits and struck out six. The bullpen then came on to throw four, only giving up one run which was unearned to close out the game for Duluth. 

Mankato 12, Rochester 13

The Rochester Honkers survived a back and forth, high scoring game against the Mankato MoonDogs. Mankato was the first to score to begin the game from a wild pitch and a home by Kenton Crews (Evansville). The MoonDogs added five more in the second, but the Honkers answered with five of their own and would go onto score in the next two innings. It still wasn't enough for the lead as Brett Newberg (Austin Peay) hit a two run shot for the MoonDogs in the top half of the fourth. The Honkers then added three in the sixth to take the lead, but the MoonDogs tied the game with two in the eighth. With the game tied at 12 in the bottom of the eighth, Cam Adams (North Park) hit a single to drive in Michael Michalask (DMACC) for the eventual game winner for the Honkers. 

Schedule for May 31: 

Rockford @ Kalamazoo (11:05 AM) 

St. Cloud @ Waterloo (6:35 PM) 

Green Bay @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM) 

Fond du Lac @ Madison (6:35 PM) 

Duluth @ La Crosse (7:05 PM) 

Thunder Bay @ Willmar (7:05 PM) 

Eau Claire @ Bismarck (7:05 PM) 

Lakeshore @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM) 

Kenosha @ Wisconsin Rapids (7:05 PM) 

Rochester @ Mankato (7:05 PM)