The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are on another winning streak as they have won four in a row. Kenosha lost their second straight as they fell to Battle Creek to give Rapids a 6.5 game lead over the Kingfish and Bombers. The Duluth Huskies are the final undefeated team in the second half standings in the North as they defeated Bismarck and moved 1.5 games from fourth in the overall standings.
Bismarck 6, Duluth 10
The Duluth Huskies came back early and defeated the Bismarck Larks 10-6. The Larks got four in the second when Luke Waldek (Minnesota State) got things going from a two-run single. Connor Perry (Pittsburgh) then added two more from a two-run double later on. The Huskies answered to get two back in the bottom half from a two-run double by Luke Roskam (Nebraska). Duluth came within one in the fourth, tied it in the fifth and took the lead with four in the sixth. Isaac Collins (Creighton) knocked in two from a double and he later scored from a two-run triple. The Larks began to comeback with one in the seventh, but Roskam hit a solo shot for Duluth in the bottom half. The Huskies got another one in the eighth, but the Larks weren’t done. Perry singled in a run in the ninth, but the next batter struck out to end the game.
La Crosse 9, Eau Claire 8
The La Crosse Loggers scored four in the ninth as they went on to defeat the Eau Claire Express 9-8. The Loggers scored first with a pair in the third from a two-run single by Nicholas Kahle (Washington). The Loggers added two more in the fifth from a dropped third strike, but Eau Claire got one back in the bottom half from an RBI single by Kyle Marinconz (Cal Poly). The Express then took a three-run lead in the sixth. Robby Campillo (New Mexico) hit an RBI single to get things going and he later scored one of three runs from a slew of wild pitches and an RBI single. La Crosse began to chip away at their deficit with one in the eighth from an RBI single, but the Express got it right back from a bases loaded walk. The Loggers finally retook the lead from a three-run shot by Ryan Mantle (Jefferson CC) and a solo home run from David Villar (South Florida) which would end up being enough to win the game.
Lakeshore 2, Rockford 4
The Rockford Rivets scored three times in the sixth to take the lead and never looked back as they defeated the Lakeshore Chinooks 4-2. Rockford scored first in the third when Brian Klein (Texas Tech) doubled in a run. The Chinooks managed to take the lead with a pair of runs in the sixth form an RBI double by Owen Miller (Illinois State) and an RBI single by Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State). Rockford retook the lead for good in the bottom half when they scored three from a bases load walk, an RBI ground out and a sac fly. Three pitchers pitched the final 3.1 scoreless for Rockford including Nick Drahozal (Nebraska-Omaha) picking up the win and Dylan Stutsman (Indianapolis) earning the save.
Fond du Lac 8, Wisconsin 5
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders tacked on two insurance runs late to defeat the Wisconsin Woodchucks 8-5. Fondy got on the board first in the third when Andrew Bullock (Western Carolina) hit a grand slam. The Spiders got a pair of runs in the fourth from back-to-back RBI singles, but the Chucks came within one in the bottom half which included a grand slam from Ivan Nunez (Hillsborough CC). The Spiders tacked on one more in the eighth from an RBI single by Colin Ridout (Tennessee Wesleyan) and a solo shot by Brandon Wulff (Stanford) in the ninth. Two relievers threw five scoreless for Fondy including Jacob Barton (Mississippi State) picking up the win and Mike Pascoe (San Jacinto) earning the save.
Rochester 4, St. Cloud 7
The St. Cloud Rox used a two-run eighth inning to tack on insurance runs and defeat the Rochester Honkers 7-4. The Honkers scored a pair in the second to get things going when Johnathan Fleek (Western Illinois) hit an RBI single which was followed by an RBI fielder’s choice. The Rox answered to take the lead with four in the fourth. Three straight runs came from an RBI triple by Michael Busch, single by Daniel Schneemann (BYU) and a double from Cameron Blaquiere (Western Carolina). St. Cloud added one in the fifth from an error while Rochester came within one with runs in the seventh and eighth. The Rox sent home two insurance runs in the bottom half from an RBI single by Shane Selman (McNeese State) and a bases loaded walk which would go onto be the final score.
Waterloo 5, Willmar 3
The Waterloo Bucks scored four late to pull ahead and defeat the Willmar Stingers 5-3. The Stingers scored right away in the opening inning from an RBI single by Nolan Bumstead (CSUN) and another in the second from a triple by Marcus Still (New Mexico State). The Bucks got on the board in the fourth as they began to chip away at their deficit when Zach Malis (Grand Canyon) singled in a run. The Bucks took the lead with three runs in the seventh which started from an error by the third basemen and followed with back-to-back singles. The Stingers got an RBI fielder’ choice in the eighth, but Ryan Dunne (Western Illinois) stepped in to pick up his second save from a scoreless ninth.
Madison 6, Kalamazoo 9
The Kalamazoo Growlers got quality work out of their bullpen and defeated the Madison Mallards 9-6. The Mallards scored three right away in the first which started form a two-run double by Cade Bunnell (Madison College). Kalamazoo answered to get two back from back-to-back knocks in the first as Charlie Carpenter (USC Upstate) hit a single and Jeff Riedel (Ball State) grounded out. Madison go a two-run double in the second which forced the Kalamazoo starter out of the game. Zach Vitkuske (Muskegon CC) came on to get the final out and pitch the next six and only give up one in the fourth. After the Growlers were down four, they started to make a comeback in the fifth. They picked up a single run in the fifth, a pair in the sixth and took the lead in the seventh with another two. Back-to-back RBI singles by Ryan Orr (San Diego State) and Michael Diffley (San Diego State) put Kalamazoo up for good as they tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth to win the game.
Wisconsin Rapids 7, Green Bay 4
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters held off a late surge from the Green Bay Bullfrogs to win 7-4. The Rafters scored first in the opening inning when Jake Guenther (Sacramento City CC) hit an RBI single. The Frogs tied it in the second when Alex Pener (Scottsdale CC) scored on an RBI ground out. Rapids then broke the tie and put up three in the third which included a Ryan Stekl (Canisius) RBI single. The Frogs got one back in the fifth from an RBI single by Alonzo Jones (Vanderbilt), but Rapids answered for three in the sixth. Two runners scored from an error on a bunt attempt and another came from an RBI ground out. The Frogs managed to get one in the bottom half and another in the next inning, but the Rafters got the final 2.1 scoreless to end the game including Layne Henderson’s (Azusa Pacific) eighth save.
Kenosha 3, Battle Creek 12
The Battle Creek used the middle innings to pull away from the Kenosha Kingfish and win 12-3. The Kingfish scored first in the third when Connor Doyle (San Diego) came home from an error by the catcher. The Bombers answered with to take the lead bottom half with three unearned runs from three different errors. The Bombers broke it open more in the fourth from a pass ball and two RBI singles by Alex Howard (Arkansas State) and Justin Felix (Arkansas State). The Kingfish scored another in the fifth, but Battle Creek tacked on a pair in the seventh. Kenosha wouldn’t go away as they got one from an RBI single, but the Bombers added four more in the bottom half from a wild pitch, bases loaded walk and two sac flyouts. The Bombers then got Kenosha to go in order in the ninth to end the game and pick up the win.
Thunder Bay 9, Mankato 7
The Thunder Bay Border Cats scored three in the ninth to pull away from the Mankato MoonDogs and win 9-7. The Border Cats scored first with four in the third from a three-run dinger by Alex Sanchez (Miami) and an RBI single by Billy Cook (Pepperdine). Thunder Bay increased their lead to six with two in the fourth, but the MoonDogs began to chip away with an RBI triple by Jake Shepski (Notre Dame) in the bottom half. Mankato got another in the fifth and took the lead with five in the eighth. Ethan Valdez (Nicholls State) got things going with a two-run double as Zac Wiley (Bellarmine) drove in three from the long ball. With one out and bases loaded in the ninth, Colin Rosenbaum (Belmont Abbey) ripped a single to drive in two runs which would go onto be the final score.
Schedule for July 7:
Wisconsin Rapids @ Lakeshore (6:35 PM)
St. Cloud @ Waterloo (6:35 PM)
Eau Claire @ Rochester (7:05 PM)
Rockford @ Green Bay (7:05 PM)
Madison @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)
Willmar@ Mankato (7:05 PM)
Kalamazoo @ Wisconsin (7:05 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Kenosha (7:05 PM)
Duluth @ La Crosse (7:05 PM)
Thunder Bay @ Bismarck (7:35 PM)
