The St. Cloud Rox pulled ahead for a game lead in the North as they defeated Duluth and the Waterloo Bucks dropped to La Crosse. The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters still sit on top of the league with a 26-9 record after bouncing back from two losses. Kenosha split a doubleheader with Madison to sit 4.5 games back from Rapids in the South as the Mallards now sit in fourth.

Madison 2, Kenosha 1 (Game 1) (7 Innings)

The Madison Mallards scored twice in the sixth to defeat the Kenosha Kingfish 2-1 in a seven-inning game. The game went scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Cameron Comer (Virginia) scored from an error by the catcher to put Kenosha on the board. Two innings later, Cole Daily (Notre Dame) singled in a run to tie the game and then Maverick Handley (Stanford) scored from a sac fly to give Madison the lead. Andrew Buckley (California) came on to pitch the bottom half and Dom Savino (Albany) took care of the seventh to secure the win for the Mallards.

Madison 3, Kenosha 4 (8 Innings)

The Kenosha Kingfish needed eight innings to defeat the Madison Mallards 4-3 in a seven-inning game. The Mallards and Kingfish traded a pair of runs in the first when Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (California) hit a two-run double for Madison while Mike Madej (Purdue singled in a run and scored from an RBI ground out for the Kingfish. Madison went ahead in the next inning from an RBI single and Kenosha scored late from an RBI single to send it into extras. Ben Troike (Illinois) then delivered for the Kingfish with no outs in the eighth for an RBI single to win the game for Kenosha.

Fond du Lac 6, Green Bay 2

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders added two insurance runs late as they went on to defeat the Green Bay Bullfrogs 6-2. The Frogs scored first in the bottom half of the opening inning when Alonzo Jones (Vanderbilt) scored on a wild pitch. Fondy responded to tie the game in the second when Chris Cornelius (Missouri) scored from an error. The Spiders then took the lead from three in the fourth when Nick Fortes (Ole Miss) came across from a pass ball and Joe Breaux (McClennan CC) hit a two-run double. Green Bay added number two in the seventh, but a sac fly in the eighth and a solo home run by Cornelius gave the Dock Spiders the eventual final score.

Thunder Bay 2, Eau Claire 4

The Eau Claire Express broke a tie in the sixth and never looked back as they defeated the Thunder Bay Border Cats 4-2. The Express scored a pair in the third to get on the board which started from an RBI double by Kyle Marinconz (Cal Poly). Thunder Bay then tied the game in the fifth which included and RBI single by Kevin Biondic (Maryland). Eau Claire finally took the lead in the sixth when Justin Evans (Columbus State) scored an unearned run and one more came home from an RBI double by Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) which would go onto be the final score.

St. Cloud 8, Duluth 2

The St. Cloud Rox held the Duluth Huskies to only a pair of runs in the opening inning as they won 8-2. St. Cloud jumped on top right away when Matthew Tarantino (Pacific) hit a two-run double and scored from a double in the opening inning. Duluth would get two back as Matt Frazier (Arizona) scored on a sac fly and Luke Roskam (Nebraska) singled in a run. That would be it for the Huskies as St. Cloud kept pouring it on with two more in the second. The Rox added one in the sixth and two more in the ninth from another Tarantino double. The Rox threw three pitchers for the final four innings of scoreless baseball to win the game.

Rockford 3, Wisconsin Rapids 6

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters held off a rally late in the game as they defeated the Rockford Rivets 6-3. Rapids got their first run in the opening inning when Dustin Woodcock (SIU-Edwardsville) singled in a run. The Rafters put up two more in the third as Charlie McConnell (Northeastern) hit a solo shot and Woodcock doubled in a run. Rockford got on the board with one in the fourth when Neal Tyrell (Lewis) hit an RBI single. Rapids went back up by five as they got three in the fifth including a two-run home run by Woodcock. The Rivets then attempted a comeback as they got one in the seventh from a bases loaded walk and another in the eighth from an RBI fielder’s choice. Two Rapids’ relievers then ended the game as Layne Henderson (Azusa Pacific) converted his sixth save of the season.

Mankato 15, Rochester 9

The Mankato MoonDogs survive a late rally from the Rochester Honkers as they went on to win 15-9. Ethan Valdez (Nicholls State) put the MoonDogs on the board right away in the opening inning form an RBI single. Mankato then broke the game open with five in the third which started from an RBI double by Toby Hanson (Minnesota). Two more run-scoring doubles followed and a wild pitch sent home number five. Mankato scored three more in the fourth and five in the fifth to put them up by 14. Rochester began to chip away at their deficit in a hurry when they put up five in the sixth which included a grand slam from Jordan Hart (Minnesota State). The Honkers scored a pair more in the seventh, but Mankato wasn’t done as they put up one in the eighth. Rochester attempted a comeback in the ninth when Ethan Ibarra (St. Cloud State) doubled in two runs with two outs, but the MoonDogs got the next guy to fly out to end the game.

Waterloo 4, La Crosse 5

The La Crosse Loggers scored a pair of runs in the sixth to take the lead and defeat the Waterloo Bucks 5-4. Waterloo scored four in the third to get things going as Dalton Hurd (Seattle) drove in the first from a single which was followed by two errors and an RBI single. The Loggers got one back in the bottom half when Korey Lee (California) scored on a bases loaded walk. The Loggers put up another two in the fourth to come within one and then took the lead with a two-run home run by Cameron Cannon (Arizona) in the sixth. La Crosse got the final four scoreless from three relievers to win the game.

Wisconsin 2, Battle Creek 3

The Battle Creek Bombers got the eventual game-winner in the eighth from a balk call to defeat the Wisconsin Woodchucks 3-2. The Chucks scored first in the second when Hunter Coleman (Texas A&M) scored on an RBI ground out. Ivan Nunez (Hillsborough CC) put the Chucks up by two in the sixth from a run on a sac fly, but the Bombers tied it in the bottom half. RBI singles form J.D. Mundy (Virginia Tech) and Nick Walker (Austin Peay) brought a pair of runs across. Then with two outs in the eighth, Wisconsin balked and after a protest, the run came home for the eventual winning run for Battle Creek.

Lakeshore 16, Kalamazoo 8

The Lakeshore Chinooks scored in every inning besides the eighth as they defeated the Kalamazoo Growlers 16-8. Matthew Mika (Central Florida) got things going right away for the Chinooks with a home run to start the game. Lakeshore in the second with four from a two-RBI double followed by a two-run single. Owen Miller (Illinois State) then put up a pair for the Chinooks in the third from a home run. Lakeshore put up another two in the fourth and a single run in the fifth and a run in the sixth from a solo shot by Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State). Kalamazoo finally put up a run in the bottom half of the sixth when Andrew Huff (Middle Tennessee State) doubled in a run. Lakeshore had a 10-run lead going into the seventh when they put up four more. Jack Duffy (Missouri State) singled in a run for the Growlers in the bottom half and two more in the eighth. Miller tripled in a run in the ninth for run number 16, but the Growlers wouldn’t go away. A bases loaded walk started a rally for them followed by a two-run double from Charlie Carpenter (USC Upstate) and one more from an RBI ground out. Lakeshore finally put away the Growlers as they got a fly out and strike out to end the game.

Willmar 13, Bismarck 15

The Bismarck Larks scored five in the eighth to pull ahead and defeat the Willmar Stingers 15-13. The Larks got on the board first with two home runs in the opening inning including a solo shot by Austin Paschke (Faulkner) and a two-run dinger by Scooter Bynum (CSUN). The Stingers took the lead with four in the fourth which started with Nolan Bumstead (Northern Illinois) going yard to start the inning. The Stingers added to their lead with four more in the fifth which resulted from three errors in the innings. Bismarck came within two in the bottom half with back-to-back run scoring singles that sent home three. Willmar responded with a pair in the sixth from another error and a pass ball, but the Larks kept it a two-run game in the bottom half. Luke Waldek (Minnesota State) went deep to keep Bismarck in the game. Eli Wilson (Minnesota) led off the seventh with a solo home run for the Stingers, but Bismarck got two from a Connor Perry (Pittsburgh) home run in the bottom half. Willmar Struck for two again in the eighth, but Bismarck took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Back-to-back run scoring singles by Ryan Anderson (UC Davis) and Newt Johnson (South Dakota State) got things going as another two-run single put Bismarck over the edge which proved to be the eventual final score.

 

Schedule for July 4:

St. Cloud @ Duluth (1:05 PM)

Willmar @ Bismarck (1:05 PM)

Rockford @ Wisconsin Rapids (3:05 PM)

Kenosha @ Madison (5:05 PM)

Rochester @ Mankato (6:05 PM)

Thunder Bay @ Eau Claire (6:05 PM)

Green Bay @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)

La Crosse @ Waterloo (6:35 PM)

Wisconsin @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)

Lakeshore @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)