There were only seven games played tonight, including a doubleheader. The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are continuing to hold strong in the South as they shutout the Green Bay Bullfrogs to improve to 14-1. The top two teams in the North were off tonight. The Battle Creek Bombers edged out the Kenosha Kingfish to move into second place by themselves.

Rochester 9, La Crosse 11 (Game 1)

The La Crosse Loggers used a seven-run opening inning to defeat the Rochester Honkers 11-9. The Honkers scored first with three runs in the top half of the first including two from a solo shot by Weston Hatten (Nevada). La Crosse then responded in a big way for seven in the bottom half. Ryan Mantle (Jefferson CC) scored the first run from a fielder’s choice and two more came from RBI singles. David Villar (South Florida) then blasted a grand slam to make it seven. A pass ball in the second put the Honkers within three, but the Loggers responded again for three in the bottom half. Rochester came within four in the fourth with a solo home run by Chris Ceballos (Orange Coast JC) and Rees Rua (Lake Erie). The Loggers would then answer for one in their half of the inning. Three RBI doubles scored runs for the Honkers in the seventh and eighth, but that would end up being the final score. Charlie Fletcher (William & Mary) threw the final 1.2 scoreless to pick up his first save of the season.

Fond du Lac 10, Wisconsin 5

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders won their second straight game as they defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks in a shootout 10-5. The Spiders were first on the board when Andrew Bullock (Western Carolina) hit an RBI single in the top half of the opening inning. Another run came across from a fielder’s choice to put them up 2-0 early. The Chucks got a run back in the second when Ivan Nunez (Hillsborough CC) scored on an RBI single. Fondy opened it up in the third for five runs. Bullock hit another RBI single to get things going. Another RBI single and double drove in two more and they got a pair from a wild pitch and a single. The Woodchucks answered for one in the bottom half to keep it within five. Chris Cornelius (Missouri) added one more for the Dock Spiders in the sixth from a solo shot. Collin Ridout (Tennessee Weslyan) then hit a two-run shot for Fondy in the seventh. The Chucks would attempt a comeback in the bottom of the ninth as Tristan Clarke (New Orleans) drove in two from a single and a Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) solo home run. Jordan Block (Marian) would then settle in to get the final out and secure the win.

Madison 11, Rockford 3

The Madison Mallards score five early runs and hang on to defeat the Rockford Rivets 11-3. Jeffery Mitchell Jr. (California) got things going right away for the Mallards in the opening inning with a three-run shot. Thomas Smart (Oakton) then followed with an RBI single to make it four in the first. The Mallards scored number five with a single run in the second, but Rockford would get on the board in the fourth. Neal Tyrell (Lewis) drove in the first run from a double followed by an RBI fielder’s choice and an error by the second basemen. Madison would then hang another three on the Rivets in the sixth from two RBI singles and a double. Madison put the game out of reach with three more in the ninth as the bullpen ended with four scoreless.

La Crosse 5, Rochester 13 (Game 2)

The Rochester Honkers bounced back in game two and defeated the La Crosse Loggers 13-5 to get back to .500. The Loggers were first on the board in the second when Nicholas Kahle (Washington) scored on a bases loaded walk. Rochester then went back-to-back in the third when Mike Echavia (Nevada) hit a three-run home run and Zach Zubia (Texas) hit a solo shot. The Loggers got a home run of their own when Nick Schranck (UT-Rio Grand Valley) hit a solo shot in the fourth. Zubia then hit his second home run in consecutive innings when he blasted a three-run shot to put the Honkers up five. The Loggers responded again in the fifth for one, but Rochester broke the game open in the bottom half. Rees Rua (Lake Erie) knocked in two from a single and Echavia hit his second which resulted in a three-run shot. Schranck hit his second in the sixth for a solo shot and an RBI single brought in the second run. Rochester added one more in the eighth and their bullpen ended the game with three scoreless to secure the win.

Green Bay 0, Wisconsin Rapids 12

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters win number 14 after shutting out the Green Bay Bullfrogs 12-0. Rapids scored their first run in the top of the second when Ryan Stekl (Canisius) scored on an error by the pitcher. The Rafters scored three more in the third from another error and a two-RBI single from Jake Guenther (Sacramento City CC). Rapids started to break the game open in the fourth when they got five from two singles and a double including another two-run single by Guenther. Dustin Woodcock (SIU-Edwardsville) added two more for the Rafters when he hit a two-run shot in the fifth. Rapids got number 12 in the sixth while starter Jesse Slinger (Youngstown State) picked up his third win of the season. He threw seven scoreless, allowing only five hits and struck out three.

Battle Creek 5, Kenosha 3

The Battle Creek Bombers went up early and came back to defeat the Kenosha Kingfish 5-3 to move into second place by themselves. The Bombers got two in the second when Nikola Vasic (McHenry CC) hit a home run. The Kingfish would respond in the third with a run from an RBI triple by Nick Zouras (Illinois State). Derek Bangert (Bradley) gave Kenosha a one-run lead from a two-RBI single in the fifth. The Bombers then tied it in the sixth from a bases loaded walk and took the lead in the seventh from a two-run double by Tom Stoffel (Virginia Tech). That would be just enough to win it as the bullpen threw four scoreless to end the game. Jake Hawken (Portland) won his second game in relief while Colton Bradley (Central Michigan) earned his second save of the season.

Lakeshore 6, Kalamazoo 0

The Lakeshore Chinooks built an early lead and wound up defeating the Kalamazoo Growlers in a rain-shortened game. The Chinooks struck in the top of the second for one when Connor Kimple (Oklahoma State) hit an RBI double. Lakeshore went for five hits and three runs in the third when Matthew Mika (Central Florida) and Nick Gatewood (Georgia State) both reached to start the inning and later came around to score. The Chinooks put up two more in the fourth when Rylan Thomas (Central Florida) knocked in a two-run single to center. Lakeshore added three more in the sixth before the rain came when a pair of runs scored on two errors from the Growlers. Starter Zach Spears (Miami-Ohio) picked up his first win as he threw all six innings, only allowed one hit, four walks and struck out six.

 

Schedule for June 15:  

Waterloo @ Thunder Bay (6:35 PM)

Rockford @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM)

Eau Claire @ Duluth (6:35 PM)

Wisconsin Rapids @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)

Green Bay @ Madison (7:05 PM)

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

Bismarck @ Willmar (7:05 PM)

Rochester @ Mankato (7:05 PM)

Lakeshore @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)

Fond du Lac @ Kenosha (7:05 PM)