The Waterloo Bucks now hold a two-game lead in the North after shutting out the Thunder Bay Border Cats while the St. Cloud Rox lost a 12-run game to La Crosse. Nothing changed in the South as the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters improved to league best 15-1 while Battle Creek and Kenosha both won to hold at second and third respectively.

Waterloo 8, Thunder Bay 0

The Waterloo Bucks used four pitchers, seven hits and four errors to defeat the Thunder Bay Border Cats 8-0. The Bucks scored their first run in the opening inning from an error by the third basemen. Zach Malis (Grand Canyon) scored run number two in the fifth from a sac fly and broke open the game two innings later. All six runs in the seventh were unearned. Drew Greenwood (Bellarmine) reached on a fielder’s choice and the run scored from an error by the catcher. Grant Hawkins (Arkansas State) scored two from a single and two more came from a Jay Schuyler (San Diego) double. That would end up being the final score as the bullpen threw a combined 3.2 only allowing one hit and three walks. Hunter Spencer (Bellarmine) earned his third win of the season after pitching 5.1 scoreless on six hits and two walks while striking out four.

Rockford 8, Wisconsin 3

The Rockford Rivets win number 10 as they score two late runs to hold off the Wisconsin Woodchucks in an 8-3 victory. The Rivets jumped on board first in the third when Ryan Hutchinson (Illinois State) scored on a fielder’s choice while two more came from an RBI single. Rockford added one more in the next inning, but the Chucks got on the board with two from a pair of singles. Zach Rheams (Texas Tech) helped the Rivets answer with a single to drive in two unearned runs in the sixth, but the Chucks got one back in the bottom half. Rockford tacked on single runs in the eighth and ninth while their pitching staff threw three scoreless to end the game. Starter Cole Bellair (Illinois) won his second after throwing eight innings, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out four.

Eau Claire 4, Duluth 6

The Duluth Huskies use a four-run fourth inning to defeat the Eau Claire Express and improve to 9-8 on the season. Dean Nevarez (San Diego State) put Duluth on the board with a solo home run in the second. The Express then answered to tie the game in the top of the third when Peter McEvoy (Riverside CC) scored an unearned run. The Huskies would then retake the lead and break the game open with four in the fourth. They used two RBI singles, a fielder’s choice and an error by the shortstop. The Express got one back in the fifth from a bases loaded walk and another in the sixth from an RBI single by Beau Capanna (New Mexico). Duluth would continue to add to their lead in the seventh though from another unearned run. The Express would fight to get another in the eighth, but Kevin Folman (North Dakota State) picked up his fourth save of the season from a scoreless ninth.

Wisconsin Rapids 11, Kalamazoo 3

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters improved to 15-1 on the season as they defeated the Kalamazoo Growlers 11-3. The Growlers were first on the board in the bottom half of the opening inning with back-to-back runs from an RBI double by Ryan Mergener (Wayne State) and a sac fly from Javier Martinez (Northwood). Nick Anderson (Texas A&M-CC ) put Rapids on the board with a solo home run in the third. Bryson Stott (UNLV) then game the Rafters the lead with a two-run home run in the fifth. Rapids got four more in the sixth from a wild pitch, a two-run single by Nick Owens (St. Johns River State) and he later scored from a fielder’s choice. Kalamazoo would get one more in the sixth from a solo home run by Kaleb Murphy (USC). Scott Kapers (Valparaiso) hit a two-run home run in the seventh and Anderson added a two-run home run of his own in the ninth. The Rapids bullpen finished the game throwing 3.1 scoreless, allowing only one walk and striking out six.

Green Bay 0, Madison 16

The Madison Mallards bats explode for 14 hits in a 16-0 victory over the Green Bay Bullfrogs. The Mallards scored first off the bat in the opening inning when Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (California) got things going with a two-run double. Madison added a single run in the second and hung another four spot in the fourth. This time Cole Daily (Notre Dame) knocked in a run from a triple and later scored on a sac fly. An RBI double and a sac fly brought in the other two. Madison score another in the seventh, but exploded for six in the eighth. Kian Obrien (Madison College) scored Doran Turchin (Illinois) to get things going while the others came from two RBI singles, a double and a bases loaded walk. Starter Matt McCarty (Louisville) only pitched five, but only allowed four hits and two walks to earn his first win of the season.

St. Cloud 4, La Crosse 16

The La Crosse Loggers scored seven to start the game and continued to pour it on to defeat the St. Cloud Rox 16-4. The Rox scored first in the top half of the opening inning when Drew Avans (Southeastern Louisiana) scored on an RBI double. The Loggers would respond in a big way in the bottom half. Ryan Mantle scored first from a wild pitch which followed with Korey Lee (California) knocking in an unearned run from a double. Nicholas Kahle (Washington) then hit a two-run home run and Connor Perry (Pittsburgh) smacked a three-run shot. An RBI single and fielder’s choice drove in two more for La Crosse in the third. The Rox scored once in the fourth, but Lee scored from a single in the bottom half. Mantle added to the home run mix when he hit a three-run shot in the sixth. Three more unearned runs came around to score for La Crosse in the seventh, but the Rox got two in the eighth from RBI singles. Grant Ford (Nevada) then settled in and put the game away for the Loggers in the ninth.

Bismarck 7, Willmar 4

The Bismarck Larks scored seven early and held off the Willmar Stingers for a 7-4 victory. The Larks scored first in the third when Scooter Bynum (Northern Illinois) hit a grand slam. Bismarck would get three more when Wyatt Ulrich (St. Johns (MN) ) hit an RBI double, advance on an error and score from a sac fly while another came across from an RBI single. Brady Shockey (USC) scored the first run of the game for the Stingers in the bottom half from a fielder’s choice. Willmar picked up another in the seventh. Marcus Still stole his 16th in the eighth and came around to score from a two-run at bat with an error and a sac fly. Jeff Lindgren (Illinois State) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the season as start Tyler Steele (Vanguard) threw eight on four runs, but only one earned.

Rochester 1, Mankato 9

The Mankato MoonDogs score seven late to pull away from the Rochester Honkers in a 9-1 victory. The MoonDogs got their first two in the bottom half of the opening inning when Zac Wiley (Bellarmine) hit an RBI double and Wells Davis (South Alabama) scored an unearned run. The Honkers would get their one and only run in the third when Garrett Calvert (Cypress) scored on an error by the first basemen. Mankato would go onto break the game open with four in the sixth which started with an RBI double by Ethan Valdez (Nicholls State). He then later scored from a triple by Nick Vaage (Memphis) who scored from an error by the third basemen. The MoonDogs tacked on three more in the seventh which would go onto be the final score.

Lakeshore 6, Battle Creek 14

The Battle Creek Bombers bounced back nicely as they defeated the Lakeshore Chinooks 14-6. The Chinooks scored first in the opening inning when Matthew Mika (Central Florida) scored on a fielder’s choice. Lakeshore would hold a 4-0 lead after three and a half, but the Bombers would start a comeback with two in the fourth. The Chinooks added one more in the top of the fifth, but Battle Creek poured it on in the bottom half for seven. Cale Hennemann (Memphis) scored the first in the inning from a sac fly. Two more would come from a double by JD Mundy (Virginia Tech) and he would score on an RBI single. Three more would come from a pass ball and a two-RBI single from Hennemann’s second at bat of the inning. Lakeshore got a single run in the seventh, but that wouldn’t be enough as the Bombers went off for five in the eighth. Four RBI singles and an error by the right fielder were responsible for Battle Creek’s runs. The Bombers bullpen threw two scoreless to end the game and secure the win.  

Fond du Lac 4, Kenosha 5

The Kenosha Kingfish continue to hold a game lead for second place in the south as they walk-off in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 victory over the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. Kenosha got on the board first when Tim Millard (Dallas Baptist) hit a solo shot in the second. Fondy then answered with a solo home run of their own from AJ Lewis (Missouri) in the third. The Spiders took the lead with a run in the fourth and extended it for two more in the seventh. The Kingfish managed to tie the game with three in the bottom half. Two of the three were unearned including the go-ahead from Connor Doyle (San Diego). Jack Yalowitz (Illinois) then walked with one out in the ninth and scored the game winner from a double by Nick Zouras (Illinois State).

 

Schedule for June 16:

Waterloo @ Thunder Bay (6:35 PM)

Green Bay @ Madison (6:35 PM)

Kenosha @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)

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

Duluth @ Eau Claire (7:05 PM)

Rockford @ Wisconsin (7:05 PM)

Lakeshore @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)

Rochester @ Mankato (7:05 PM)

Bismarck @ Willmar (7:05 PM)

Wisconsin Rapids @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)