Eau Claire shutout St. Cloud today and clinched the second half north standings to guarantee a home game. The Express will host Mankato who finished with the best overall record in the north, but didn’t win either half. St. Cloud will then host Willmar for the second game in the north. Wisconsin Rapids won both halves of the south and they will host Lakeshore as Rockford travels to Michigan to play Battle Creek. All games are single elimination and the times are listed below.

Mankato 5, Rochester 4

Mankato MoonDogs prevented a late rally form the Rochester Honkers and won the game 5-4. Mankato got three in the second when Jake Ortega (Cal State Bakersfield) singled in two of the runs. Rochester got one in the bottom of the third from a wild pitch, but the MoonDogs put up another in the next inning from an RBI single. Mankato got one more in the seventh, but the Honker scored a pair in the eighth which started from an RBI single by Griffin Neuer (Bellarmine). Weston Hatten (Nevada) went deep in the bottom of the night, but the next two flew out to end the game.

Willmar 4, Thunder Bay 3

The Willmar Stingers held on all night and defeated the Thunder Bay Border Cats 4-3. Both teams put up runs in the second as Justus Nelson (Missouri ST) singled in a run for Willmar and Nick Caldeen (Bethany Lutheran) knocked one of his own for Thunder Bay. The Stingers went ahead in the third with three which started by Nolan Bumstead (Bradley) hitting one in from a single. The Border Cats got one in the eighth from an RBI single and then another on a sac flyout in the ninth, but got out on the base paths to end the game.

Duluth 4, Waterloo 8

The Waterloo Bucks got two insurance runs late and defeated the Duluth Huskies 8-4. Duluth got their first right away as Kyle Hubbuch (North Alabama) knocked in a run from a single. Waterloo got three in the third to take the lead which started from Zach Malis (Grand Canyon) doubling in a run. Duluth managed one in the fourth from a wild pitch, but The Bucks got one in the fifth and then two more in the sixth. Duluth wouldn’t go away as Chase Strumpf (UCLA) hit a double, but Waterloo got a pair more in the eighth from a pass ball and stolen base which ended up being the final score.

Fond du Lac 9, Green Bay 4 (Game 1) (7 Innings)

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders scored six early and never looked back as they defeated the Green Bay Bullfrogs 9-4 in a seven-inning game. Fondy took an early six-run lead in the top of the first, but Green Bay managed one in the bottom half. The Frogs got another three in the second, but the Dock Spiders scored three late in the sixth and never looked back. Fondy got three pitchers to throw the final five to close out the game. Caleb Summerhays (UNLV) and AJ Lewis (Missouri) both homered for the dock Spiders as Riley Smith (Minnesota) drove in two runs and scored once.

Kenosha 9, Wisconsin 1

 The Kenosha Kingfish stayed ahead all game and defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks 9-1. The Kingfish started things in the fourth when Sage Bruhl (Madison College) knocked one in from a single. Kenosha then capitalized on two errors and a pass ball in the fifth which scored four runs. Chase Scharnak (Madison College) knocked in two form a single in the seventh for Kenosha and then they got two more in the next inning. Michael Ferri (UW-Milwaukee) singled the one and only run for the Chucks as they went down in-order to end the game.

La Crosse 0, Bismarck 1

The Bismarck Larks got a complete game shutout from Jamie Kaye (Augsburg) and defeated the La Crosse Loggers 1-0. Jason Seever (Arizona) started for La Crosse and threw eight scoreless innings on only four hits and one walk while striking out seven. Kaye only allowed six hits on two walks while striking out six for his second win in the season finale. Then with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Luke Horanski (Virginia Tech) hit a single and drove in Scooter Bynum (Northern Illinois) for the game-winner.

Rockford 12, Kalamazoo 4

The Rockford Rivets used a five-run third and defeated the Kalamazoo Growlers 12-4. Kalamazoo got their first in the second when Jack Duffy (Missouri State) knocked in a run from a single. The Rivets got things going in the third when they put up five which featured a two-run double by Brett Whelton (McNeese State). The Growlers got one in the sixth from an RBI single, but the Rivets got another of their own in the seventh. Rockford got three in the eighth which was fueled by a Brian Klein (Texas Tech) two-run double. Klein was responsible for another two runs in a three-run inning in the ninth as Jason Sullivan (Central Michigan) went deep for two in the bottom half, but the next guy flew out to end the game.

Battle Creek 1, Madison 6

The Madison Mallards held the Battle Creek Bombers to one inning of scoring as they won the game 6-1. The Mallards got single runs in the second and third as Andrew Baker (Florida) knocked one in from a single and Doran Turchin (Illinois) scored on a sac flyout. Tom Stoffel (Virginia Tech) scored the only run for the Bombers with a solo shot in the fifth, but Turchin went deep for two in the bottom half. Sam Armstrong (Jacksonville) then hit a two-run home run in the seventh for the Mallards as they got two shutdown innings to close out the game.

Lakeshore 2, Wisconsin Rapids 9

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters scored five late and went on to defeat the Lakeshore Chinooks 9-2. Lakeshore scored first in the second from a sac flyout, but Rapids took the lead with two in the bottom half which started from Jared Nelson (Phoenix College) singling in a run. The Chinooks tied it in the sixth when Daniel DeSimone (Oklahoma State) went deep. Rapids took the lead again in the seventh which featured Alex Holderbach (E. Kentucky) knocking one in from a single. The Rafters then broke it open with five in the eighth as Dustin Woodcock (SIUE) cleared the bases from a triple and that proved to be the final score.

St. Cloud 0, Eau Claire 7

The Eau Claire Express used two pitchers and shutout the St. Cloud Rox 7-0. The Express got a pair in the opening inning as one scored on a fielder’s choice and Luke Bandy (Dallas Baptist) singled in one. Josh Norlin (Dallas Baptist) then drove in two from a single in the second and then they added two in the fourth as Adam LaRock (Iowa) hit a dinger out. They got one more from an RBI single in the sixth as Dalton Roach (Minnesota Mankato) threw eight in his start and Alex Ogren (St. Thomas) shutdown the final two to put the Express in the playoffs. 

Fond du Lac 6, Green Bay 4 (Game 2) (7 Innings)

The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders used six early runs to defeat the Green Bay Bullfrogs in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader. Fondy got a pair in the top half of the opening inning, but the Frogs answered for one in the bottom half. The Dock Spiders got another two in the second and then another pair in the fourth. Green Bay got two in the bottom half, but Houston Glad (Creighton) threw a scoreless ninth to end the game. Troy Johnston (Gonzaga) homered for the Frogs as he drove in two for the game. Luke Mangieri (Bradley) drove in two on two hits for Fondy as Nick Fortes (Ole Miss) connected on a hit and drove in two of his own.

 

Schedule for August 14:

Mankato @ Eau Claire (6:35 PM CST)

Rockford @ Battle Creek (7:05 PM EST)

Lakeshore @ Wisconsin Rapids (7:05 PM CST)  

Willmar @ St. Cloud (7:05 PM CST)