The Mankato MoonDogs extended their winning streak to six as the continue to stay hot in the second half. The MoonDogs defeated Thunder Bay this afternoon to put them four back from St. Cloud in the overall North Division standings for third place. Battle Creek began to make ground in the overall South Division standings as they defeated Kenosha. The Bombers sit two back from second place Kingfish and hold a game lead for third.
Thunder Bay 4, Mankato 8
The Mankato MoonDogs held off a late rally by the Thunder Bay Border Cats to win 8-4. The Border Cats scored first in the fourth from a solo shot by Kevin Biondic (Maryland). The MoonDogs responded to take the lead with three in the bottom half from an RBI single by Jake Ortega (Cal State Bakersfield) and a two-run single by Kenton Crews (Evansville). Mankato added two more in the sixth and three in the seventh to build a seven-run lead. Two long balls in the eighth, a solo shot from Jean-Francois Garon (Bradley) and a two-run home run by Alex Sanchez (Miami) put Thunder Bay within four. Joey Gerber (Illinois) then came into pitch for Mankato in the ninth and shut it down to end the game.
La Crosse 3, Eau Claire 5
The Eau Claire Express only allowed three in the opening inning and got a complete game from Luke Eldred (Dallas Baptist) to defeat the La Crosse Loggers 5-3. The Loggers got three right away when David Villar (South Florida) doubled in the first which was followed by an error and a ground out. Eau Claire responded to get one in the bottom half from a Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) single. The Express tied the game with two in the fifth from and RBI double and single. Justin Evans (Columbus State) then gave Eau Claire the lead in the sixth from a two-run home run. Eldred only allowed six hits and one walk while striking out six.
Bismarck 5, Duluth 9
The Duluth Huskies used a six-run sixth to pull ahead and defeat the Bismarck Larks 9-5. The Larks scored first in the opening inning when Noah Sadler (Illinois State) hit a sac fly. The Huskies took the lead from a two-run home run by Rob Emery (San Francisco). Bismarck answered to retake the lead with four in the next inning which started from a two-run single by Luke Waldek (Minnesota State). Duluth came within two in the fifth from an RBI double and then took the lead with six in the sixth. Isaac Collins (Creighton) got things going with an RBI single while two more RBI singles and double drove in the rest. Duluth then got the final seven scoreless from three relief pitchers to end the game.
Rockford 6, Lakeshore 21
The Lakeshore Chinooks poured it on in the eighth to defeat the Rockford Rivets 21-6. The Rivets scored first with two in the opening inning from a single by Hunter Feduccia (Louisiana State-Eunice) and a sac fly. Rylan Thomas then tied it for Lakeshore with a home run in the bottom half. Matthew Mika (Central Florida) then hit his own two-run shot in the second to give Lakeshore the lead. Rockford then tied it in the third from an RBI double by Feduccia and a sac fly. Caleb Dean (Lamar) then gave Eau Claire the lead again in the bottom half from a bases loaded walk. The Rivets wouldn’t go away as they tied it in the fourth and took the lead from a solo shot by Brian Klein (Texas Tech) in the seventh. Lakeshore then took the lead with four in the bottom half including a two-run shot by Owen Miller (Illinois State). The Chinooks then completely broke the game open with 10 in the eighth. The inning included Miller getting two at bats which featured him hitting a bases clearing triple to complete the cycle as they built a big enough lead to win the game.
Wisconsin 3, Fond du Lac 1
The Wisconsin Woodchucks scored all three runs in the first as they went onto defeat the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 3-1. The Chucks’ first run came when Ivan Nunez (Hillsborough CC) came home from an RBI ground out. Brady Lindsly (Oklahoma) then singled in one and Logan Foster (Texas A&M) came home from an RBI ground out. The Spiders got on the board in the sixth when Nick Fortes (Ole Miss) drove in Luke Mangieri (Bradley). That would be all the scoring as Fondy got eight scoreless from Kyle Huckaby (Eastern Michigan), but the Chucks used three pitchers to end the game as Orsen Josephona (Hillsborough CC) picked up his twelfth save.
St. Cloud 1, Rochester 6
The Rochester Honkers held the St. Cloud Rox to only one run in the eighth as won 6-1. The Honkers got on the board with a pair in the fourth when Zach Zubia (Texas) scored from a bases loaded hit by pitch and Griffin Neuer (Bellarmine) singled in a run. Rochester got two more in the next inning from a bases loaded walk and another RBI by Neuer. The Honkers got their third consecutive two-run inning when Ryan Fitzpatrick (UC Irvine) went yard in the sixth. The Rox managed one in the eighth when Cameron Eden (California) walked to lead off the inning, stole second, advanced from a pass ball and scored on a ground out. Rochester came back to put a guy on in the ninth from a double, but got the next two to flyout and strikeout to end the game.
Green Bay 4, Wisconsin Rapids 5
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters began to make a comeback and took the lead in the eighth as they defeated the Green Bay Bullfrogs 5-4. The Frogs and Rafters traded runs in the second when Alex Pener (Scottsdale CC) singled in a run for Green Bay and Wyatt Mascarella (McHenry CC) singled in a guy for Rapids. The Bullfrogs took the lead again in the third when Tanner Poole (Mississippi State) led off the inning with a solo shot. Green Bay added two more in the sixth when Pener drove in two from a single, but Rapids cut their deficit in half in the bottom half. A pair in the seventh from a double and an error tied the game while Jake Guenther (Sacramento City CC) scored the go ahead and eventual game winner form a sac fly in the eighth.
Kenosha 2, Battle Creek 3
The Battle Creek Bombers took the lead in the third and never looked back as they defeated the Kenosha Kingfish 3-2. The Kingfish got their first run in the second when Tim Millard (Dallas Baptist) drove in Derek Bangert (Bradley) from a sac fly. Battle Creek then responded to take the lead from a pair on a two-run shot by Alex Howard (Arkansas State). The Bombers added their third in the fourth when Nikola Vasic (McHenry CC) singled in a run. Kenosha came within one in the sixth, but the Bombers used three pitchers to close things out and end the game.
Madison 7, Kalamazoo 8
The Kalamazoo Growlers edged out the Madison Mallards in the eighth and held off a late rally in the ninth to win 8-7. Kalamazoo scored four right away which started with a three-run double by Charlie Carpenter (USC Upstate). The Growlers got three back in the second when Sam Armstrong scored on an RBI ground out and Cole Daily (Notre Dame) singled in two. The Growlers then tacked on two in the fourth from a double, but Madison tied it in the fifth. Kalamazoo added a pair in the eighth to take the lead when Connor Hollis (Houston) doubled in a run as he scored from an RBI single. Kalamazoo attempted a comeback with two outs in the ninth when Jeffrey Mitchell Jr. (California) hit an RBI single, but the next batter flew out to end the game.
Waterloo 5, Willmar 6
The Willmar Stingers took the lead in the third and never looked back as they defeated the Waterloo Bucks 6-5. The Bucks scored three right away in the opening inning which started from Tyler Stover (Louisiana-Lafayette) doubling in two runs. The Stingers then answered for four in the third as Josh Bissonette (Baylor) led off the inning with a home run. Luke Becker (Kentucky) then led off the fourth with a solo home run and the Stingers got another from an RBI single. Waterloo attempted a comeback from a two-run shot in the seventh by Keaton Presley (Central Arkansas), but Connor Jahn (Presbyterian) pitched the final 2.2 scoreless to end the game.
Schedule for July 6:
Bismarck @ Duluth (6:35 PM)
La Crosse @ Eau Claire (6:35 PM)
Lakeshore @ Rockford (6:35 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM)
Rochester @ St. Cloud (7:05 PM)
Waterloo @ Willmar (7:05 PM)
Madison @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)
Wisconsin Rapids @ Green Bay (7:05 PM)
Kenosha @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)
Thunder Bay @ Mankato (7:05 PM)
