The St. Cloud Rox moved into first place by themselves in the North as they won in walk-off fashion from a two-run home run. The Battle Creek Bombers snapped their seven-game winning streak and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters won their sixth straight to claim the best record in the Northwoods League through nine games.

Rochester 3, Eau Claire 4

The Eau Express defeated the Rochester Honkers tonight from a walk-off run in the ninth to improve their record to 4-5. The Express were the first on the board with a run from a wild pitch in the bottom of the first. The Honkers got all three of their runs in the third which started from a wild pitch also. Two errors by Eau Claire brought in two more to give the Honkers a two-run lead. The Express tied the game in the sixth when Brian Grove (Iowa Western) drove in a run from a sac fly and Nic Ready (Air Force) hit an RBI single in the next at bat. In the ninth with the score tied at three, Justin Evans (Columbus State) reached on an error from a sacrifice and drove in the game winning run for Eau Claire. The Express bullpen pitched six scoreless innings only five hits while striking out eight.

Battle Creek 5, Kenosha 6

The Kenosha Kingfish snap the Battle Creek Bombers seven game winning streak with a 6-5 victory tonight at home. Battle Creek would score first in the fourth inning when they hung four runs which started with an RBI single by Tom Stoffel (Virginia Tech) who would score later on. The Kingfish got two back from RBI single in the bottom half. Jack Yalowitz (Illinois) put Kenosha within one in the fifth when he hit a solo shot. The Bombers would tack on an insurance run in the top of the ninth form a Nikola Vasic (McHenry CC) solo home run. The Kingfish weren’t done as Ben Troike (Illinois) knocked in an RBI single and later scored the game winner from an RBI single.

Lakeshore 4, Wisconsin 5

The Wisconsin Woodchucks used three home runs to battle in a one run victory over the Lakeshore Chinooks. The Chinooks and the Chucks each traded single runs in the first inning.  Andrew Kendrick (Youngstown State) hit the first home run for the Woodchucks in the third which resulted in a two-run shot. Lakeshore then got a run back in the fourth. The Chinooks added two more in the fifth from RBI singles, but Dalton Reed (Seminole State College) led off the bottom half with a solo shot for the Chucks. The third came from the league leader Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) when he hit a solo shot in the seventh. That would be just enough to win it for Wisconsin Orsen Josephena (Hillsborough CC) picked up his third save of the season.

Mankato 5, Waterloo 1

The Mankato MoonDogs scored first in the third with two runs and three later on to defeat the Waterloo Bucks 5-1. Zach Wiley (Bellarmine) drove in both runs for Mankato in the third from a single. The Bucks would score their only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth when Grant Hawkins (Arkansas State) scored on a fielder’s choice. The MoonDogs tacked on insurance runs in the eighth when three scored from a Kenton Crews (Evansville) single. Mankato’s starter Tyler Lesley (Incarnate Word) picked up his second win of the season after throwing six, only allowing the one run on six hits and struck out five. Naithen Dewsnap (Cal State Bakersfield) closed the door on the Bucks as he threw a scoreless ninth to secure the win.

Rockford 1, Madison 0

The Rockford Rivets only needed one run in the fifth to defeat the Madison Mallards 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel. Both teams put two runners on in the first, but the starters pitched around the jam. The only run of the game came in the fifth when Bren Spillane (Illinois) knocked in an RBI single to score Jack Wassel (Minnesota). The Mallards put two runners on in the bottom half, but Anthony Dahl (Arkansas) struck out the next batter to erase any scoring threats. Dahl threw eight for Rockford, only allowed five hits, one walk and struck out 13 Mallards to earn himself the win. Jon Laird (Illinois-Springfield) came in for the ninth and picked up his first save of the season.

Duluth 10, Thunder Bay 6

The Duluth Huskies used the middle innings and final two to overcome an early deficit to defeat the Thunder Bay Border Cats 10-6. Thunder Bay scored two early in the first two innings which included an RBI double from Colin Rosenbaum (Belmont Abbey) and an RBI single by Gabriel Lozada (Hillsborough CC). Augie Isaacson (Friends U) put the Huskies on the board with an RBI single in the third. The Border Cats then responded for two more in the bottom half and another two in the fourth. The Huskies started their comeback in the fifth when two scored from a wild pitch and an error. Two RBI singles scored the other runs and the Huskies tacked on a pair in the next inning to put them ahead. Insurance runs came in the eighth when Caleb Robinson (Western Carolina) drove in a run from a single and Isaacson scored his third run for number 10. The Duluth bullpen stopped the scoring as they threw five scoreless and only allowed two hits.

Fond du Lac 1, Wisconsin Rapids 4

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters used a four run third to defeat the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 4-1 to keep pace in the South. The Spiders scored first in the second when Cory Wills (Yavapai) knocked in A.J. Lewis (MIssouri) from a sac fly. Rapids responded in the bottom of the third when they got their first run of the game from a bases loaded walk. An error by the pitcher in the next at bat scored two more for the Rafters and Dustin Woodcock (SIU-Edwardsville) scored run number four which proved to be the final score. Rapids’ starter Jesse Slinger (Youngstown State) threw 5.1 and only allowed the one run on five hits while striking out six to earn himself the win.

Willmar 6, Bismarck 10

The Bismarck Larks improve to 4-5 on the season as they scored seven early runs to defeat the Willmar Stingers 10-6. The Larks scored first in the bottom of the first form an RBI single. They broke open the game in the second which started from Spencer Gillund (Bismarck State) scoring on a fielder’s choice. The Larks used only three hits and three Stingers errors to score the next five runs. The Stingers would answer with four in the fifth which included a two-run home run from Eric Del Prado (Willamette). The Larks would answer back with single runs in the sixth and seventh. Eddie Estrada (Minnesota) hit an RBI triple in the top of the eighth and scored, but the Larks responded with a solo shot from Hunter Wilcher (Central Christian) which would result in the final score.

La Crosse 1, St. Cloud 3

The St. Cloud Rox moves into first after a walk-off home run from pinch hitter Spencer Holcomb (Western Carolina) in a 3-1 victory over the La Crosse Loggers. The St. Cloud Rox scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first when Luke Ringhofer (South Dakota State) knocked in an RBI single. The Rox took a one-run lead into the eighth when Mike Ferri (UW-Milwaukee) scored on a double play. The Rox put a runner on in the bottom of the ninth from a walk and then Holcomb hit a one out, two-run walk-off home run. Rox starter Kenny Saenz (BYU) threw six scoreless, but factored out of the decision when the bullpen gave up the only run. Reliever Kyle Boser (St. Cloud State) finished the game with two scoreless innings as he earned himself the win.

Green Bay 4, Kalamazoo 3

The Green Bay Bullfrogs needed 14 innings to defeat the Kalamazoo Growlers 4-3 for their third win of the season. The Frogs scored three runs right away in the top of the first including a two-run home run from Troy Johnston (Gonzaga). They would go scoreless for the next twelve innings. The Growlers would eventually force extra innings when they scored three runs in the eighth which included a two RBI triple from Ivan Estrella (Texas Rio Grande). Both bullpens did quite a bit of work. Five Frogs pitchers threw nine innings and five Kalamazoo pitchers threw eight. Zach Plunkett (Arkansas) finally scored the game winner in the top of ninth from a sac fly.

 

Schedule for June 8:

Duluth @ Thunder Bay (12:00 PM)

Lakeshore @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM)

Rockford @ Madison (6:35 PM)

Wisconsin Rapids @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)

Mankato @ Waterloo (6:35 PM)

Battle Creek @ Kenosha (6:35 PM)

Eau Claire @ Rochester (7:05 PM)

Green Bay @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)

Willmar @ Bismarck (7:05 PM)

La Crosse @ St. Cloud (7:05 PM)