Wisconsin Rapids has now won two in a row as Kalamazoo dropped their second to give the Rafters a half game lead in the second half standings and a 7.5 game lead in the overall. Waterloo and St. Cloud both lost tonight as Mankato shutout the Rox to put the MoonDogs only three games out of first in the North.

Waterloo 0, Eau Claire 1 (10 Innings)

The Eau Claire Express needed 10 innings to score the first run of the game and defeat the Waterloo Bucks 1-0. Luke Eldred got the start for Eau Claire and threw eight scoreless, only allowing three hits and no walks while striking out six. Ryan Garcia (UCLA) pitched 6.2 scoreless for Waterloo as he only allowed five hits and two walks while striking out five. Brandon Downey (Maryville) and Tyler Booth (SE Louisiana) threw a combined 1.1 scoreless and allowed nothing. Victor Chavez (Scottsdale CC) threw a scoreless ninth to help things go to extras. Ryan Dunne (Western Illinois) helped preserve Waterloo’s shutout in the ninth. He stayed in for the tenth and with two outs in the inning, Zach Ashford (Fresno State) doubled in Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) to win the game for Eau Claire.

Wisconsin 4, Lakeshore 9

The Lakeshore Chinooks scored all their runs in the second as they defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks 9-4. Lakeshore started the second when Owen Miller (Illinois State) drew a walk. He advanced on a single and then scored from an error by the pitcher. Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) also contributed as he hit a grand slam. The Chucks starter only went 1.2, but Erik Gutierrez (Los Angeles Harbor) threw 5.1 scoreless followed by Daniel Sprinkle (Auburn) throwing a scoreless inning. Cole Gnetz (Miami-Ohio) was throwing scoreless baseball until the Chucks got four in the fifth. Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) got things going with an RBI single which was followed by a two-run single by Brylie Ware (Oklahoma) and a sac fly. Alex McIntosh (UW-Milwaukee) came in for relief in the middle of the inning and gave up none of his own runs in 2.2. Parker Sanburn (Des Moines Area CC) then pitched the final two scoreless to end the game.

Rockford 7, Fond du Lac 6

The Rockford Rivets scored the eventual deciding factor in the ninth and held off a late rally by the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders to win 7-6. The Rivets started the game with three runs in the opening inning. Zach Watson (LSU) got things going with an RBI single and he scored an unearned run at the end of the inning. Fondy answered to get one back in the bottom half from an Andrew Bullock (Western Carolina) single. Rockford and Fondy traded runs in the second that kept the Rivets ahead by two. The Spiders came within one in the third when AJ Lewis (Missouri) singled in a run. The Rivets got it back in fourth from a wild pitch and sac fly. The Dock Spiders came within one in the sixth from a pass ball and a sac fly. Rockford managed to get one in the eighth when DeMuri scored on an RBI double and then he drove in one in the ninth. Nick Fortes (Ole Miss) kept Fondy in the game with an RBI triple in the bottom half, but the next batter grounded out to end the game.

Bismarck 7, Duluth 6

The Bismarck Larks held off a late rally by the Duluth Huskies and won 7-6. The Larks scored first in the opening inning when Scooter Bynum (Northern Illinois) doubled in a run. Bismarck tacked on two in the third from a home run by Ryan Anderson (UC Davis). Duluth took the lead with four in the fourth which started from an RBI double by Jake Smith (St. Thomas). They managed an RBI single in the next at bat and Smith scored from a wild pitch as the fourth run came from a double. Bismarck took the lead with a pair in the fifth from an RBI double and single. Duluth tied it in the bottom half, but Bismarck got an RBI single by Newt Johnson (South Dakota State) in the sixth to take the lead. Bismarck then added one more in the next inning. Duluth would get a solo home run by Rob Emery (San Francisco) in the eighth, but Noah Luedtke (Bethel) got the next guy out including a scoreless ninth as he recorded his first save.

Mankato 14, St. Cloud 0

The Mankato MoonDogs shutout the St. Cloud Rox 14-0 and are now only three games back from first in the North. The MoonDogs got things going in the third as they put up four which started from an RBI double by Kyle Cuellar (UCLA). He later scored on the second RBI single in the inning and another came from an RBI ground out. Mankato got three more in the fourth which included another RBI by Cuellar. The MoonDogs scored a single run in the fifth and then exploded for five in the seventh. Daniel Amaral (UCLA) got things going with a two-run double and he scored from a triple. An RBI single and wild pitch sent two more home. Mankato got one more in the eighth as starter Brett Newberg (Austin Peay) threw eight scoreless for his second win. Blake Tritch (NDSU) then came in and pitched a scoreless ninth to end the game.

Kenosha 3, Kalamazoo 2

The Kenosha Kingfish took the lead in the seventh and held the Kalamazoo Growlers off as they won 3-2 tonight. The Growlers got their first run in the opening inning when Michael Diffley (San Diego State) scored on an RBI ground out. Kenosha tied it in the sixth when Connor Doyle (San Diego) came home on a sac fly. Tim Millard (Dallas Baptist) gave the Kingfish the lead in the seventh from an RBI double and Ben Troike (Illinois) extended it with an RBI single. Ivan Estrella (Texas Rio Grande) got one back for the Growlers in the bottom half from an RBI single. The Kingfish then got the next six batters out in-order to give them the victory as Billy McKay (Florida) converted his eighth save of the season.

Battle Creek 4, Wisconsin Rapids 6

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters pulled ahead of the Battle Creek Bombers in the seventh and won 6-4. Battle Creek scored twice in the opening inning when Nick Walker (Austin Peay) hit an RBI double and Aaron Antonini (Middle Tennessee State) singled in a run. The Rafters got on the board in the bottom half with a solo shot by Ryan Stekl (Canisius). Rapids then tied it when Christian Jones (Campbell) went deep to lead off the fifth. Stekl scored again in the sixth to give the Rafters a one-run lead, but the Bombers went ahead with a pair in the seventh. Rapids eventually took the lead with a three spot in the seventh including a solo home run by Bryson Stott (UNLV). Alex Jackson (Heartland CC) and Cameron Busby (Belmont Abbey) threw two-thirds of inning each out of the bullpen as Layne Henderson (Azusa Pacific) threw one to get his 10th save.

Madison 13, Green Bay 4

The Madison Mallards used a huge ninth inning to pull away and defeat the Green Bay Bullfrogs 13-4. The Frogs scored two in the third when Alonzo Jones (Vanderbilt) went deep. The Mallards got both runs back in the sixth which started from Zac Taylor (Illinois) scoring on a sac fly and Maverick Handley (Stanford) hitting an RBI single. Madison took the lead with one in the seventh form an error. Green Bay retook the lead with two in the bottom half from an RBI single by Richie Tecco (Rider) and a sac fly. Madison came back with three in the eighth from another error, and a two-run double by Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville). The Mallards then jumped for seven in the top of the ninth. Doran Turchin (Illinois) scored on wild pitch which was followed by a two-run single by Handley. Taylor then brought in four more from a grand slam. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Frogs got a baserunner from a single, but the next guy lined out to end the game.

Willmar 1, La Crosse 0

The Willmar Stingers used two pitchers to shutout the La Crosse Loggers 1-0. The One and only run came in the second when Brady Shockey (USC) hit an RBI double to score Nolan Bumstead (CSUN). Derik Beauprez (Nova SE) gave up the one run in the second, but it was unearned. He threw seven and only allowed six hits and two walks while striking out nine, but didn’t get any run support. Nick Lackney (Minnesota) threw 7.2 scoreless for the Stingers, only allowing three hits and two walks while striking out eight to win his second of the season. Calvin Coker (Auburn) came in for the final 1.1 as he converted his first save of the season.

Rochester 5, Thunder Bay 0

The Rochester Honkers held Thunder Bay to just four hits as they defeated the Border Cats 5-0. The game went scoreless until the top of the sixth as the Border Cats’ starter Kevin Biondic (Maryland) threw four scoreless after the rain delay.  Mike Echavia (Nevada) then hit a solo home run off the Thunder Bay bullpen with two outs in the sixth. The Honkers finally opened-up and got four in the eighth. Ryan Fitzpatrick (UC Irvine) scored on a fielder’s choice and back-to-back RBI singles by Konnor Zickefoose (UC Irvine) and Johnathan Fleek (Western Illinois) sent three more in. Griffin Neuer (Bellarmine) started the game for the Honkers after a two-hour rain delay and only went two innings. Manny Armendariz (Doane) then pitched the final seven scoreless while only allowing three hits and striking out nine to pick up the win.

 

Schedule for July 12:

Bismarck @ Duluth (6:35 PM)

Wisconsin @ Lakeshore (6:35 PM)

Waterloo @ Eau Claire (6:35 PM)

Rockford @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)

Rochester @ Thunder Bay (7:05 PM)

La Crosse @ Willmar (7:05 PM)

St. Cloud @ Mankato (7:05 PM)

Battle Creek @ Wisconsin Rapids (7:05 PM)

Kenosha @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)

Madison @ Green Bay (7:05 PM)