The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders beat the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters twice today in seven-inning games. Kenosha and Madison got postponed tonight so the Rafters only lost a game lead, giving them a four-game cushion in the South. The St. Cloud Rox and Waterloo Bucks continue to both win as they are now tied at 23-11 for first place in the North.
Willmar 10, Rochester 1
The Willmar Stingers held onto a one run lead and pulled away late to defeat the Rochester Honkers 10-1. The Stingers scored early in the second from an RBI single by Nate Sterijevski (Bethune Cookman). Willmar then got three more in the sixth from a solo shot by Nolan Bumstead (CSUN) and a two-run home run from Danny Rodriguez (Bethune Cookman). Ryan Fitzpatrick (UC Irvine) put the Honkers on the board in the seventh from a solo shot, but that would be all the runs they would get. Sterijevski knocked in two more in the eighth from a single and got four in the ninth; two from bases loaded walks and two from sac flyouts. Willmar got six strong scoreless innings from Polo Portela (Sacramento City) and three innings with only one run from Luke Chevavlier (Northern State).
Wisconsin Rapids 2, Fond du Lac 13 (Game 1)
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders scored in the first four innings of a seven-inning game to defeat the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 13-2. Fondy scored first in the bottom half of the opening inning when they put up four which started from an RBI single by Thomas Luevano (Creighton). The Spiders then scored three in the second from an RBI single, RBI double and triple. Rapids got on the board in the third when Dustin Woodcock (SIU-Edwardsville) singled in a run. Fondy responded for three more in the third from back-to-back RBI doubles by KV Edwards (Missouri) and Chris Cornelius (Missouri) and an RBI single. The Spiders score a pair more in the fourth, but the Rafters weren’t done. Nick Anderson (Texas A&M-CC) singled in a run in the ninth, but Fondy put away the final out two batter later.
La Crosse 1, Thunder Bay 2
The Thunder Bay Border Cats used the sixth inning to score a pair of runs as they went on to defeat the La Crossed Loggers 2-1. The game went scoreless until the bottom of the sixth as La Crossed got 5 strong innings from Cody Ebert (Columbia). Colin Rosenbaum (Belmont Abbey) in two runs in the inning to give Thunder Bay the lead. Kade Kryzsko (Indiana) threw eight scoreless for the Border Cats as he only gave up five hits on no walks while striking out five. La Crosse threatened in the ninth when Ryan Mantle (Jefferson CC) knocked in a run from a single, but the next batter bounced into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
Rockford 1, Lakeshore 16
The Lakeshore Chinooks only held the Rockford Rivets to one run in the eighth as they went on to win 16-1. The Chinooks scored first in the bottom half of the opening inning from an RBI single by Nick Gatewood (Georgia State). Lakeshore then broke the game open in the third with seven runs. Matthew Mika (Central Florida) got things going from an RBhe Fond aI double and he later scored on one of the three errors in the inning. The Chinooks tacked on three more in the fourth which started from an RBI double by Gatewood. Rylan Thomas (Central Florida) and Gatewood added four more to the run total in the fifth with back-to-back home runs. Lakeshore scored number 16 in the sixth and Rockford added their one in the eighth from a solo shot by Neal Tyrell (Lewis), but the deficit was too much to come back from.
Eau Claire 2, Waterloo 14
The Waterloo Bucks scored early and often to defeat the Eau Claire Express 14-2. The Bucks scored a pair in the bottom half of the opening inning when Dalton Hurd (Seattle) scored on a sac fly. Waterloo went up six from a two-RBI single followed by a two-RBI double in the third. The Express scored their first in the fourth when Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) came home on an error by the catcher from a stolen base. The Bucks responded for two in the fourth from a home run by Tyler Stover (Louisiana-Lafayette). The Bucks scored another four in the fifth, but Eau Claire came back for their last and final run in the sixth. Waterloo scored a pair in the sixth which would go on to be the final score.
St. Cloud 6, Duluth 3
The St. Cloud Rox held off a late rally by the Duluth Huskies to win 6-3. The Huskies scored a pair in the first when Matt Frazier (Arizona) came home from a wild pitch and Kyle Hubbuch (North Alabama) singled in a run. The Rox tied the game in the third when Keaton Kringlen (BYU) hit a two-run single. St. Cloud scored a pair more in the fifth from a two-run triple by John Matthews (Kent State). Two more came from a double by Kringlen in the sixth. The Huskies weren’t done as they scored from an RBI triple by Chase Strumpf (UCLA), but the next two batter lined out to end the game.
Wisconsin Rapids 3, Fond du Lac 5 (Game 2) (7 Innings)
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders swept the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters today as they won the second game 5-3. Fondy got all five runs in the opening inning which started with Joe Breaux (McClennan CC) drawing a walk. He advanced from an error and then scored on a sac fly. Colin Ridout (Tennessee Wesleyan) and Eric Gilgenbach (Notre Dame) hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give them five. The Rafters responded and got a run back in the second when Bryson Stott (UNLV) scored on an RBI fielder’s choice. Rapids then got two more in the third when Stott hit a two-run single. Fondy then used three pitchers to throw the final 5.2 scoreless to end the game.
Wisconsin 10, Kalamazoo 6
The Wisconsin Woodchucks scored eight in the eighth to go on to defeat the Kalamazoo Growlers 10-6. The Chucks got on the board with a solo shot from Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) in the first. Wisconsin scored once more in the third, but the Growlers took the lead in the fourth with four runs. Andrew Huff (Middle Tennessee State) started things with an RBI single and he later scored from a sac fly. Kalamazoo scored once more in the fifth, but after two scoreless innings, the Chucks put up eighth. Logan Foster (Texas A&M) started things with a bases loaded walk and an RBI single and two doubles brought home four more. Kalamazoo wasn’t done as they scored a run in the ninth, but the next batter grounded out to end the game.
Bismarck 3, Mankato 4
The Mankato MoonDogs defeated the Bismarck Larks today 4-3 in walk off fashion. The Larks scored first in the third when Quinn Irey (Jamestown) came home from an error by the first basemen. Brandon Lankford (UNC-Asheville) then put Bismarck up by two from an RBI double in the fourth, but Daniel Amaral (UCLA) responded with an RBI triple for Mankato in the fifth. The Larks got another in the eighth from a solo home run by Scooter Bynum, but Mankato came within one from an RBI double in the bottom half. Kyle Cuellar (UCLA) then tied it for the Moon Dogs in the ninth from a solo home run and Toby Hanson (Minnesota) won it from an RBI single.
Madison, Kenosha
Postponed to: July 3, 4:05 PM
Battle Creek 4, Green Bay 12
The Green Bay Bullfrogs held the Battle Creek Bombers to only two innings of runs tonight as they won 12-4. The Frogs jumped on the board right away in the bottom half of the opening inning when Alonzo Jones (Vanderbilt) scored an unearned run from a single. Green Bay got three more in the third when Jones scored his second from a wild pitch and another two came from a pass ball and sac fly. The Frogs would go up five in the fourth and add three more in the sixth from two RBI singles and a bases loaded walk. The Bombers finally got on the board in the seventh when Cody Hawken (Portland) and Alex Howard (Arkansas State) scored unearned runs from errors. The Frogs answered to get three runs in the bottom half from an error, fielder’s choice and a wild pitch. The Frogs then got another in the eighth, but the Bombers wouldn’t go away. Hawken scored one from an RBI ground out and Howard came home on a sac fly, but the Frogs got the next batter to strike out to end the game.
Schedule for July 3:
Madison @ Kenosha (4:05 PM)
Madison @ Kenosha (6:05 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Green Bay (6:35 PM)
Thunder Bay @ Eau Claire (6:35 PM)
St. Cloud @ Duluth (6:35 PM)
Rockford @ Wisconsin Rapids (7:05 PM)
Mankato @ Rochester (7:05 PM)
Waterloo @ La Crosse (7:05 PM)
Wisconsin @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)
Lakeshore @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)
Willmar @ Bismarck (7:35 PM)