The Duluth Huskies and Willmar Stingers battled for an early first place lead in the North tonight as the Stingers came out on top with a two-run victory. The Battle Creek Bombers have now won four in a row and they are tied for first in the South as the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters won their second straight. 

Rochester 2, Thunder Bay 4

The Thunder Bay Border Cats improved their record to 2-3 in a two run victory over the Rochester Honkers after scoring three in the seventh to win 4-2. The Border Cats struck first in the bottom of the second from an RBI single, but the Honkers responded in the top half of the third. The Honkers took the lead in the sixth from solo shot by Zach Zubia (Texas) who hit his second of the season. The Border Cats finally took the lead and held on for good in the seventh from a two RBI single by Austin Ledin and he later scored on an RBI single. Brady Hill (Belmont Abbey College) came into the ninth to pick up the save while striking out one batter.

Bismarck 5, St. Cloud 6

The St. Cloud Rox held onto its lead over the Bismarck Larks after almost surrendering it in the ninth and won the game 6-5. The Larks struck first in the fourth from a Noah Sadler (Illinois State) solo home run and added another in the fifth. The Rox took the lead in the sixth when they answered for four which included a two RBI double from John Matthews (Kent Sate). The Rox then extended its lead with two more in the next inning. Quinn Irey (Jamestown) hit a two run shot in the ninth to chip the Larks closer to the Rox. Another run came across, but Brent Killman (Georgetown) came on for the final out to pick up the save for the Rox. 

Waterloo 6, La Crosse 4

The Waterloo Bucks score three runs late in the game to edge out the La Crosse Loggers for the 6-4 victory. The Loggers were the first on the board by a wild pitch in the third. Jay Schuyler (San Diego) tied the game for the Bucks in the fifth from an RBI single. The Bucks scored two more in the top of the sixth to take the lead, but the Loggers answered to get a run back in the bottom half. Deion Thompson (Western Illinois) knocked a two-run triple in the eighth and the Bucks added an insurance run in the ninth. Reliever Brandon Downey pitched the last two innings while the Bucks were scoring runs, only gave up one hit and picked up the win. 

Fond du Lac 8, Wisconsin 1

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders used five runs in the first to build a big enough lead over the Wisconsin Woodchucks in the 8-1 victory tonight. Nick Fortes (Ole Miss) drove in a two RBI double to get things going for Fond du Lac in the first. Three more runs came in on errors by the second basemen and the catcher. The Dock Spiders picked up one more in the fourth, and two more in the seventh. The Woodchucks got its only run of the game from an RBI single by Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech). Adam Eck (Edgewood) pitched six scoreless on three hits while striking out nine to pick up the win. 

Green Bay 1, Madison 20

The Madison Mallards score seven runs in two separate innings which fueled their double-digit victory over the Green Bay Bullfrogs tonight. The Mallards' first seven run inning came in the second. Already up 2-0, Doran Turchin (Illinois) hit a grand slam to increase the Mallards lead. Madison would go onto score one more, chasing the Frogs starter after 1.2. Turchin then scored the second run of the third for the Mallards. A wild pitch, hit by pitch, fielder's choice and a Brock Weimer (SIUE) scored four more runs in the fourth for Madison. The next seven run inning came in the seventh which included Turchin driving in another with an RBI single. The Frogs finally got on the board when Ben Hart (Oakland) hit a solo home run. Sam Cottingham-Beard (Western Illinois) came on for his second inning of work in the ninth and helped hold the 19 run lead. 

Wisconsin Rapids 7, Lakeshore 2

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters were down early, but scored six runs in the eighth to defeat the Lakeshore Chinooks 7-2. The Chinooks scored two early runs in the first from Jacob Richardson's (Southern Arkansas) second home run of the season which was a two-run home run. That would go onto be the only runs of the game though. The Chinook's starter turned in another quality start as Zach Spears (Miami-Ohio) pitched seven innings, gave up only one run in the sixth on five hits and struck out nine. Spears was unable to factor into the decision however. Four Lakeshore relievers tried to close out the final three innings, but ended up giving up six runs in the eighth as the Rafters won the game. Christian Jones (Campbell) added in the scoring as he hit his third home run of the season. 

Battle Creek 6, Rockford 5

The Battle Creek Bombers improved to 4-1 as they used a four run sixth to defeat the Rockford Rivets 6-5. The Bombers got on the board first in the top of the second from a solo shot by Tom Stoffel (Virginia Tech). The Rivets answered in the bottom half from an RBI double by Tyler Lowe (Elgin CC). The Rivets took the lead in the third by scoring two runs. The Bombers took the lead for good in the sixth as they put up four from two RBI singles, a double and and error. The Rivets wouldn't go away as they scored a run in the seventh, but the Bombers added an insurance run in the eighth. Thomas Shook (Oakland) picked up the two inning save as he pitched two, gave up one run on two hits and struck out four. 

Kalamazoo 3, Kenosha 5

The Kenosha Kingfish went down early to the Kalamazoo Growlers, but used five runs in the middle innings in their 5-3 victory. The Growlers struck first in the top of the second for two runs and added one more in the third from an RBI double by Nick Hutchins (Southern Illinois). That would be the only runs for the Growlers as the Kingfish bullpen threw seven scoreless innings. The fourth inning showed the Kingfish scoring two and would ultimately take the lead in the sixth from a wild pitch and a hit by pitch. Seth Rosenberg (Northern Kentucky) threw five out of the bullpen for the win and Alex Manasa (Jackson CC) picked up the save. 

Willmar 6, Duluth 4

The Willmar Stingers bounced back tonight to defeat the Duluth Huskies in a two-run game which resulted in a 6-4 victory on the road. The Stingers scored first in the opening inning from an RBI single by Nolan Bumstead (CSU-Northridge). Marcus Still (New Mexico State) then stole two basses for the Stingers in the third and came around to score. The Huskies responded and tied the game with two in the bottom half from a bases loaded walk and an RBI single. Duluth then took the lead in the fourth from an error by the Catcher. The Stingers answered back with a two RBI single in the sixth, but the Huskies wouldn't go away as they responded in the bottom half. Still then scored another run in the seventh and the Stingers tacked on one more which resulted in the final score. 

Mankato 2, Eau Claire 5

The Eau Claire Express used three early runs and an isurance run late to hold off and defeat the Mankato MoonDogs 5-2. The first three batters all scored for the Express when Zach Gilles (Central Michigan), Justin Evans (Columbus State) and Nic Ready (Air Force) all came across in the first. Eau Claire got its fourth run of the game in the third from a balk, but the MoonDogs answered for two in the fifth. That would be it for Mankato as the Express added one more in the eighth when Ready scored his second run of the game from a sac fly. Eau Claire only used two pitchers as the starter Ryan Zimmerman (St. Thomas) threw six to get the win and Josh Gaworski (Century CC) earned the save in three innings. 

 

Schedule for June 4: 

Wisconsin @ Fond du Lac (1:05 PM) 

Kalamazoo @ Kenosha (1:05 PM) 

Madison @ Green Bay (1:05 PM) 

Rochester @ Thunder Bay (1:35 PM) 

Willmar @ Duluth (3:05 PM) 

Bismarck @ St. Cloud (4:05 PM) 

Battle Creek @ Rockford (4:05 PM) 

Mankato @ Eau Claire (5:05 PM) 

Waterloo @ La Crosse (5:05 PM) 

Wisconsin Rapids Rafters @ Lakeshore (5:05 PM)