Battle Creek snapped Rockford’s four-game winning streak tonight to move the Bombers in a first-place tie with the Rivets in the second half standings. The Mankato MoonDogs won their fifth straight and continue to hold a game lead in the second half standings and are two games ahead in the overall standings. Rapids defeated Kalamazoo and still hold a steady 5.5 game lead over the Bombers for first in the overall standings.

Fond du Lac 8, Lakeshore 4

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders pulled ahead for good in the fifth and defeated the Lakeshore Chinooks 8-4. Fondy got a pair in the top half of the opening inning when Nick Fortes (Ole Miss) hit a single to left. Lakeshore got one in the bottom half after Jacob Richardson (Southern Arkansas) singled in a run. The score remained tied after the second after the Spiders got an RBI single in the top half and Lakeshore got a double to score two. Fondy then put up three in the fifth from a bases loaded hit by pitch, RBI single and fielder’s choice. The Dock Spiders got another in the seventh and one more in the ninth from an Andrew Bullock (Western Carolina) long ball which ended up being the final score.

St. Cloud 3, Willmar 4 (10 Innings)

The Willmar Stingers needed 10 innings to defeat the St. Cloud Rox 4-3 after being shutout in the first eight. The Rox were first on the board in the top half of the first when Matthew Tarantino (Pacific) doubled in one. St. Cloud got another in the fourth from an RBI single and then one more in the fifth from another RBI single. Aaron Rozek (Minnesota State) threw 7 scoreless in his ninth start for the Rox and only allowed six hits and one walk while striking out 11. The Stingers finally got to the St. Cloud bullpen with Josh Bissonette (Baylor) singled in one. Caleb Ledbetter (Montevallo) then led off the ninth with a home run to force extras. With one out in the bottom of the tenth, Tyler Reichenborn (Iowa Western) a sac fly to score Marcus Still (New Mexico State) and the game game-winning run.

Bismarck 3, La Crosse 13

The La Crosse Loggers went off in the third inning as they went on to defeat the Bismarck Larks 13-3. The Loggers started things in a big way when they scored 11 runs in the third inning. They were up one already with no outs when Jeremy Ydens (UCLA) hit a grand slam. They drew a total of five walks as Bismarck committed one error. They managed to then bat around as Ydens drove in one more from a single. La Crosse put up one more in the fourth from a bases loaded walk. Kennie Taylor (Duke) then led off the sixth inning for the Loggers with the long ball. Bismarck used two errors to score a pair of runs in the eighth and they got one more in the ninth from Wyatt Ulrich (St. Johns (MN)), but the deficit was too large as the next guy flew out to end the game.

Eau Claire 6, Thunder Bay 7

The Thunder Bay Border Cats tied it in the fourth and took the lead in the sixth as they defeated the Eau Claire Express 7-6. The Express got a pair in the top of the first when Kyle Marinconz (Cal Poly) drove in one from a single and a run scored following that from a ground out. Eau Claire went up three in the second and four in the third, but Thunder Bay got a pair which started from an RBI single by Brendan Dougherty (Bradley). The Express got two more in the fourth when Zach Ashford (Fresno State) doubled in one and scored, but the Border Cats got three in the bottom half including a two-run shot by Billy Cook (Pepperdine). Thunder Bay took the lead when Colton Thomas (South Alabama) drove one in from a sac flyout which would eventually be the game-winner.

Rockford 3, Battle Creek 12

The Battle Creek Bombers used an eight-run third as they went on to defeat the Rockford Rivets 12-3. Rockford took the lead in the top of the first with two from a sac flyout and an RBI double by Brian Klein (Texas Tech). The Bombers got one in the second when JD Mundy (Virginia Tech) went deep and took the lead while breaking the game open with eight in the third. Mundy contributed in that inning as he doubled in two and later scored on a sac flyout. Battle Creek then added three in the seventh from an RBI single, sac flyout and RBI double by Tom Stoffel (Virginia Tech). The Rivets got one in the top of the eighth, but the Bombers shutdown the bats in the ninth to end the game.

Madison 2, Kenosha 5

The Kenosha Kingfish added two insurance runs in the eighth and defeated the Madison Mallards 5-2. The game went scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when Jesse Wilkening (Nebraska) hit a bases clearing triple for Kenosha. Cole Erickson went 5.2 for the Kingfish in only his second start of the season and didn’t allow a run on only five hits while striking out six. The Mallards then got on the board when Maverick Handley (Stanford) hit a single to score an unearned run. Madison came within one in the eighth, but Kenosha added two in the bottom half from a single. Billy McKay (Florida) shook off a rough eighth and converted his tenth save after throwing a scoreless ninth.

Kalamazoo 2, Wisconsin Rapids 8

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters used the middle to late innings to get ahead and defeat the Kalamazoo Growlers 8-2. Kalamazoo scored first in the top half of the opening inning on a sacrifice. Rapids tied it in the third when Ryan Stekl (Canisius) hit an RBI single. Nick Anderson (Texas A&M-CC) then put the Rafters ahead with a two-run shot in the fifth. Michael Ruffolo (Rockurst) started his first game at home for Rapids and knocked in two on a double and an RBI single scored two more. Rapids managed one more in the seventh and allowed one to Kalamazoo in the eighth, but Tevita Gerber (UNLV) pitched four strong to end the game.

Duluth 6, Rochester 3

The Duluth Huskies scored early and went on to defeat the Rochester Honkers 6-3. The Huskies got their first when Chase Strumpf (UCLA) went deep in the opening inning. Duluth added another in the second and then three more in the third from RBI singles. The Honkers got on the board in the bottom half when Zach Zubia (Texas) drove in two from his 19th homer of the season. Duluth added an insurance run in the sixth and Rochester cut their deficit in half in the eighth, but Joe Gonrowski (St. Scholastica) pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.

Waterloo 4, Mankato 10

The Mankato MoonDogs scored eight late and defeated the Waterloo Bucks 10-4. Both teams got on the board in the fourth as Jake Viaene (Southern Miss.) homered in two for the Bucks and Logan Busch (NDSU) went deep for two for the MoonDogs. Keaton Presley (Central Arkansas) gave Mankato the lead back with a solo shot in the fifth, but Mankato exploded for six in the seventh. Three wild pitches scored half of the runs as two RBI doubles scored the rest. Mankato managed a pair in the eighth, but allowed one in the top of the ninth on a pass ball, but got a double play to end the game.

Wisconsin 6, Green Bay 9

The Green Bay Bullfrogs held off a late rally from the Wisconsin Woodchucks and won the game 9-6. Both teams traded runs in the opening inning when Hunter Coleman (Texas A&M) doubled for the Woodchucks and Dan Leckie (Lafayette) singled one in for Green Bay. Coleman added two in the third as he scored the third run in the third for the Chucks. The Frogs then put up two in the fourth and took the lead with four in the fifth. Leckie singled to start the inning, he scored on a RBI single and Riley Smith (Minnesota) added two from a single as another came home from a single. Leckie then homered in the eighth to added two. Stevie Mangrum (Virginia Tech) singled in a run and scored in the ninth, but the next two guys went down to end the game.

 

Schedule for August 1:

Lakeshore @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)

Rockford @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM)

Kenosha @ Madison (7:05 PM)

Wisconsin @ Green Bay (7:05 PM)

Eau Claire @ Thunder Bay (7:05 PM)

Duluth @ Rochester (7:05 PM)

Bismarck @ La Crosse (7:05 PM)

Kalamazoo @ Wisconsin Rapids (7:05 PM)

Waterloo @ Mankato (7:05 PM)

St. Cloud @ Willmar (7:05 PM)