Rockford caught up to Wisconsin Rapids as they put up double-digit runs and are now tied with them for first in the second half South standings. Mankato fell tonight as Waterloo won their third straight to move into a tie for first in the overall South standings. Willmar won their fifth straight as they now sit on top of the second half standings alone and are a game back from first in the overall.

La Crosse 1, Duluth 3 (7 Innings) (Game 1)

The Duluth Huskies avoided a big rally by the La Crosse Loggers late in the game as they won 3-1 in a seven-inning game. The Huskies scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first which started with a sac flyout as Luke Roskam (Nebraska) doubled in a run right after. Duluth added another in the second from an RBI triple by Jordan Hovey (Jefferson). Piero Amador (Greensboro) threw six scoreless for the Huskies and then with two outs in the seventh, Luke Rasmussen (Long Beach State) scored on an error for the Loggers. He issued a walk in the next at bat, but Greg (Tre) Brown (San Diego State) came on to strike out the next batter to end the game.

Kalamazoo 1, Lakeshore 2

The Lakeshore Chinooks used their two runs in the middle innings to defeat the Kalamazoo Growlers 2-1. Joe Duncan (Eastern Illinois) put Lakeshore on the board in the third with an RBI single. Duncan then delivered again in the fifth with another RBI single to put the Chinooks up two. Lakeshore got six scoreless from Austin Havekost (Kent State) on only five hits and two walks while striking out five. The Growlers finally got on the board in the seventh when Jeff Riedel (Ball State) scored on an error by the pitcher. Joe Heineman (Baylor) and Nick Campe (Olivet Nazarene) then pitched the final 2.2 scoreless to end the game. 

Wisconsin Rapids 4, Rockford 12

The Rockford Rivets came back from an early deficit and defeated the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 12-4. Rapids scored three right away which started from an RBI double by Bryson Stott (UNLV) and Jacson McGowan (Purdue) followed with two on a single. The Rivets quickly tied the game in the second from three straight RBI singles by Brynn Martinez (Quincy), Logan Michaels (Madison College) and Trevor Paradoski (Texas Tech). Rockford then took the lead in the third from an RBI single by Ryan Hutchinson (Illinois State). Rockford then broke the game open from a grand slam by Zach Watson (LSU) in the fourth. Rapids got one in the sixth, but the Rivets got four more in the bottom half. The Rivets then got the final three scoreless from their bullpen as they went on to win the game.

Madison 4, Fond du Lac 5

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders went ahead in the eighth as they defeated the Madison Mallards 5-4. The Mallards scored right away when Zac Taylor (Illinois) hit a solo home run with only one out in the game. Fondy tied it in the third when Chris Cornelius (Missouri) singled in a run. Madison went up three in the fourth from back-to-back RBI singles by Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) and Thomas Smart (Oakton). The Spiders got one back in the fourth from an RBI ground out and another in the fifth from a double play. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Thomas Luevano (Creighton) singled in a run and Eric Gilgenbach (Notre Dame) scored the eventual game winner for the Dock Spiders on an error.

La Crosse 9, Duluth 3 (7 Innings) (Game 2)

The La Crosse Loggers tacked on insurance runs in the final two innings as they defeated the Duluth Huskies 9-3 in a seven-inning game. The Loggers scored right away when Kennie Taylor (Duke) scored an unearned run on a fielder’s choice. Dashon Moore (South Suburban) tacked on two more for La Crosse in the second from a single. David Villar (South Florida) went deep to leadoff the third for La Crosse and Jake Hirabayashi (UCLA) knocked in a run from a single two batters later. Duluth got on the board in the fourth when Jordan Hovey (Jefferson) scored on an RBI ground out. The Huskies added two more in the fifth, but the Loggers got a pair in the sixth and seventh which would end up being the final score.

Green Bay 6, Battle Creek 12

The Battle Creek Bombers took the lead in the fifth and never looked back as they defeated the Green Bay Bullfrogs 12-6. The Frogs got an RBI double from Alex Pener (Scottsdale CC) which started a three-run opening inning which led to another RBI double and RBI single. Green Bay added another in the fifth when Kyle Benyo (Youngstown State) singled in a run, but Battle Creek would answer in a big way. Nick Walker (Austin Peay) started a string of five at bats with an RBI single which would score all six runs. A bases loaded walk followed along with a couple of errors, and another RBI single. Battle Creek got another four in the next inning from a JD Mundy (Virginia Tech) single that drove in two, a sac flyout and a wild pitch. The Bombers added a pair more in the seventh, but the Bullfrogs weren’t done. With one out in the ninth, Pener drove in one from a double and scored on an error, but the next two flew out and struck out to end the game.

Rochester 4, Willmar 7

The Willmar Stingers powered ahead in the first three innings and never looked back as they defeated the Rochester Honkers 7-4. The Stingers got a pair right away in the bottom of the first when Luke Becker (Kentucky) scored on an RBI ground out and Danny Rodriguez (Bethune Cookman) hit an RBI single. Nolan Bumstead (CSUN) then drove in two from a double in the third for Willmar. The Honkers got RBI singles from Konnor Zickefoose (UC Irvine) and Michael Michalak (DMACC) in the sixth to get on the board. Willmar then responded for one in the bottom half. Both teams traded a pair of runs as Chris Ceballos (Orange Coast JC) hit a two-run dinger for Rochester and the Stingers got an RBI single and a bases loaded hit by pitch. Rochester put a runner on from a hit by pitch in the ninth, but the next three went down in-order to end the game.

Eau Claire 2, Mankato 1

 The Eau Claire Express came back from an early deficit and edged out a 2-1 victory over the Mankato MoonDogs. Mankato scored right away in the opening inning when Kyle Cuellar (UCLA) singled in a run. Aaron Shortridge (California) got the start for Eau Claire and only gave up the one run as he threw seven, only allowed two hits and two walks while striking out six. The Express managed to tie the game in the fifth when Zach Ashford (Fresno State) drove in a run from a fielder’s choice. Eau Claire then took the lead when Scott Ogrin (Cal Poly) led off the seventh from the long ball. Kenny Ogg (Ohio) then pitched the final two scoreless and earned himself his first save of the season.

Waterloo 2, Bismarck 1

The Waterloo Bucks held off a late rally from the Bismarck Larks in the bottom of the ninth as they won 2-1. Waterloo scored a pair in the second when John Cable (New Orleans) singled in a run and Dalton Hurd (Seattle) doubled in another. Zachery Patterson (Arkansas State) threw the first 6.2 scoreless for the Bucks as he only allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five which led to his second win. Jamie Kaye (Augsburg) started for the Larks and only allowed the two runs in seven innings, but didn’t get any run support while on the mound. Finally, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Cooper Coldiron (Houston) singled in a run for Bismarck, but the next batter bounced into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

Wisconsin 10, Kenosha 1

The Wisconsin Woodchucks went off for 10 runs on 15 hits as they defeated the Kenosha Kingfish 10-1. Derek Bangert (Bradley) put Kenosha on the board first with an RBI single, but the Chucks responded to tie it in the next inning from a Jordan Santos (South Florida) RBI single. Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) gave the Woodchucks the lead in the third from an RBI single which started a five-run inning. Mangrum delivered again in the sixth with a sac flyout and Logan Foster (Texas A&M) came home on a wild pitch. Foster drove in two in the seventh for Wisconsin which would end up being the final score.

Thunder Bay 5, St. Cloud 2

The Thunder Bay Border Cats got four runs in the final inning as they went on to defeat the St. Cloud Rox 5-2. Aaron Rozek (Minnesota State) started for St. Cloud and pitched seven scoreless on only three hits and two walks while striking out 11. Jake Mielock (Colorado Mesa) got the start for the Border Cats and pitched six scoreless innings while only allowing one hit and four walks while striking out two. Thunder Bay finally got on the board when Colin Rosenbaum (Belmont Abbey) singled in a run in the top of the eighth. Drew Avans (Southeastern Louisiana) put the Rox ahead in the bottom half from an RBI triple and then stole home. Thunder Bay then tied it from a balk and added three more in the ninth including a two-run triple by Brendan Dougherty (Bradley) who scored in the next at bat from a double. The Rox put guys on in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but the next batter grounded out to end the game.

 

Schedule for July 25:

Madison @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)

La Crosse @ Duluth (6:35 PM)

Wisconsin Rapids @ Rockford (6:35 PM)

Kalamazoo @ Lakeshore (6:35 PM)

Rochester @ Willmar (7:05 PM)

Eau Claire @ Mankato (7:05 PM)

Wisconsin @ Kenosha (7:05 PM)

Waterloo @ Bismarck (7:05 PM)

Thunder Bay @ St. Cloud (7:05 PM)

Green Bay @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)