Kenosha is holding onto a half game lead in the second half South Division Standings as they took one of their two games today. Madison is riding a nine-game winning streak while Willmar leads the second half North by one game and are a half game back from Duluth in the overall standings.
Battle Creek 8, Kenosha 6 (Game 1)
The Battle Creek Bombers used a big first inning to take the lead and defeat the Kenosha Kingfish 8-6. The Bombers got going with consecutive RBI singles by Connor Bailey (Willamette) and Zach Gartner (East Texas Baptist) to start a five-run inning. Battle Creek got another in the second, but Kenosha scored on a two-run single in the third from Carson McCusker (Oklahoma State) hitting a single. The Bombers got another in the fourth, but the Kingfish responded for three in the bottom half which was started by Evan McDonald (Farleigh Dickinson) hitting an RBI triple. Both teams led off the sixth with a home run as Alec Cargin (Wofford) went deep for the Bombers and McDonald hit one out for the Kingfish. Brett Main (Ohio) then came in to shut down the final three innings and pick up his first win.
Mankato 4, Thunder Bay 3
The Mankato MoonDogs scored the go-ahead in the top of the ninth and defeated the Thunder Bay Border Cats 4-3. Kyle MacDonald (Arkansas State) hit an RBI double to start things for Mankato in the third. The Dogs got two more in the fourth which was started by Zac Wiley (Bellarmine) hitting an RBI double. The Border Cats scored twice in the fifth as Daniel DeSimone (Cowley) knocked in both from a single. Then with two outs and bases loaded in the ninth, Austin Bull (Grand Canyon) drew a walk to score the eventual winning run.
Duluth 7, Waterloo 3
The Duluth Huskies used two innings to take the lead and defeat the Waterloo Bucks 7-3. The Bucks scored twice in the fourth from a balk and an RBI single by Ethan Ibarra (St. Cloud State). The Huskies took the lead with four in the bottom half which started by Tony Monroy (Georgetown) hitting an RBI ground rule double. The Bucks managed one in the seventh, but the Huskies got three more in the eighth as Sean Watkins (Cal State LA) started things with an RBI single. Callan Johnson (Lubbock Christian) threw 1.1 in relief and Jason Braziel (Friends) retired the side in-order to end the game.
Green Bay 10, Kalamazoo 13
The Kalamazoo Growlers battled all game and defeated the Green Bay Bullfrogs 13-10. Kalamazoo got its first in the opening inning from a solo shot by Sam Hall (Clemson). Zach Daniels (Tennessee) started a five-run second with a three-run shot for the Growlers. Kalamazoo got a pair in the third from two errors, but Green Bay got on the board in the fourth. The Growlers got a two-run triple in the fourth from Ivan Johnson (Georgia). The Frogs got another on a wild pitch in the sixth and then another in the seventh on an error. Green Bay got another five in the eighth which was powered by Alejandro Gonzalez (Hillsborough CC) hitting a two-run single. Kalamazoo responded with three from two errors, Green Bay got two in the ninth to keep it close, but the final guy struck out to end the game.
Rochester 2, St. Cloud 1
The Rochester Honkers used a sixth inning to take the lead and defeat the St. Cloud Rox 2-1. Both teams traded runs in the opening inning. Will Warren (SE Louisiana) threw six innings, gave up the two run on just seven hits and two walk while striking out eight, but didn’t get the run support. The Honkers took the lead in the sixth when Casey Dunlap (Point Loma Nazarene) hit an RBI ground out. Darian Kilfoyl (Saint Johns River State) threw four in his start, gave up just the one run. Ryan Dorney (St. Martins) then threw two in relief for the win and Michael Brandt (Augustana) picked up his second save.
Bismarck 6, Willmar 10
The Willmar Stingers battled through the middle innings and defeated the Bismarck Larks 10-6. Both teams traded runs in the third as Bismarck got one from a sac fly and Nic Hernandez (Cal Poly Pomona) hit an RBI single. They both scored a pair in the fourth as they each got one from an error and Shea Kramer (Utah) hit a one-run single. The Larks took the lead in the fifth which was capped off by Matthew Warkentin (Xavier) hitting an RBI single. Hernandez drove in another in the fifth and Willmar took the lead in the sixth as Hernandez hit an RBI double. They scored three more to close out the game as the bullpen didn’t allow an earned run to end the game.
Lakeshore 5, Wisconsin Rapids 6
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters walked it off in the bottom of the ninth and defeated the Lakeshore Chinook 6-5. The Chinooks scored a pair in the first on a sac fly and RBI ground out. Rapids took the lead in the fourth which was started by Jake Dunham (Northern Illinois) hitting a solo shot. Lakeshore tacked on another to tie it in the sixth from an RBI double by Griffin Dey (Yale). Both teams traded runs in the seventh to keep it tied up at four. The Chinooks took the lead in the eighth on an error. Rapids then tied it from a bases loaded walk and won it when Alex Fedje-Johnson (Davidson) was hit by a pitch on the next at bat.
Rockford 7, Madison 8
The Madison Mallards scored three late and held off a late rally to defeat the Rockford Rivets 8-7. The Mallards got two in the opening inning when David Vinsky (Northwood) knocked in both from a double. Both teams traded runs in the third. The Rivets got a triple by Parker Bates (Louisiana Tech) and one more scored on an error. Madison got three more in the third from RBI singles by Andrew Baker (Florida) and Garrett Kueber (Austin Peay). Rockford got a pair in the fourth to take the lead and then another in the seventh on a wild pitch. The Mallards then got a bases clearing triple by Trevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee) in the eighth to retake the lead. Cade Bunnell (Indiana) hit a solo shot for the Rivets in the ninth, but the side was retired to end the game.
Fond du Lac 4, Wisconsin 5
The Wisconsin Woodchucks walked it off in the bottom of the ninth and won the game 5-4. The Chucks scored four in the fifth which was started by Brandt Broussard (LSU) singling in a run and another scoring in an error. Fondy got three in the sixth which was started by consecutive RBI singles by Cole Zabowski (Ole Miss) and Andrew Bullock (Western Carolina). The Spiders tied the game in the eighth on a double by Jacob Adams. Nick Loftin (Baylor) then delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to win the game for the Woodchucks.
Battle Creek 4, Kenosha 9 (7 Innings) (Game 2)
The Kenosha Kingfish used a big sixth inning to take the lead and defeat the Battle Creek Bombers 9-4. Kenosha got two right away in the second when Bryce Carter (Stanford) hit a two-run double. The Bombers got four to take the lead in the third which was powered by Connor Bailey (Willamette) knocking in two from a double. The Kingfish got one in the bottom half and then exploded for six in the sixth. There were two errors in the inning as Will Wagner (Liberty) knocked in two from a double Keanu Mendez (Concordia-St. Paul) threw the final two scoreless for his fourth win.
La Crosse 6, Eau Claire 4 (13 Innings)
The La Crosse Loggers took the lead in the 13th and defeated the Eau Claire Express 6-4 in a marathon game. The Loggers got one in the opening inning on an error. The Express then took the lead with two in the bottom half from two RBI singles. Grant Judkins (Iowa) hit an RBI double to tie things up and then a sac fly gave La Crosse the lead. The Express got the lead back in the fourth from an error. The Loggers got one back from a solo shot by Mike Rothenberg (Duke), but Eau Claire got it back in the bottom half. That forced extra innings and in the 13th Harrison Freed (Butler) hit a sac fly and Rothenberg knocked in one from a single for the eventual game-winner.
Schedule for July 27:
Madison @ Rockford (6:35 PM)
Wisconsin @ Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)
Waterloo @ Duluth (6:35 PM)
Mankato @ Thunder Bay (7:05 PM)
La Crosse @ Eau Claire (7:05 PM)
St. Cloud @ Rochester (7:05 PM)
Battle Creek @ Kenosha (7:05 PM)
Bismarck @ Willmar (7:05 PM)
Green Bay @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)
Lakeshore @ Wisconsin Rapids (7:05 PM)