The Duluth Huskies bounced back for a win, La Crosse won and Willmar lost as the Huskies now lead the second half by a half game and overall by 2.5. Kenosha also bounced back, beat Madison while Battle Creek now sits in second place, 3.5 games back.
Rockford 5, Battle Creek 6
The Battle Creek Bombers fought in the later innings and defeated the Rockford Rivets 6-5. The Bombers got its first in the second on an RBI single by Connor Bailey (Willamette). Battle Creek got another in the third. The Rivets got an RBI single from Jacob Vader Wal (Central Arizona) in the fourth, but then Rockford put up three for the lead in the fifth as Vader Wal drove in another two. The Bombers got three in the bottom half to retake the lead as Jordan Swiss (Saginaw Valley State) jacked a two-run home run. The Bombers got another in the eighth, the Rivets scored again in the ninth, but the final guy flew out to end the game.
Rochester 5, Thunder Bay 4
The Rochester Honkers used an important eighth inning and defeated the Thunder Bay Border Cats 5-4. Thunder Bay scored twice in the opening inning when Gunner Hellstrom (Nebraska) hit a single. Rochester got tied it in the second as Logan Denholm (UC Davis) led off the inning with a homer. Both teams traded runs in the seventh. The Honkers took the lead in the eighth on a bases loaded hit by pitch and a sac fly. Thunder Bay tacked on one in the bottom half on an RBI single, but Joshua Ibarra (Concordia Irvine) held on to win the game.
Kalamazoo 8, Wisconsin 5 (13 Innings)
The Kalamazoo Growlers took the lead in the top of the 11th and defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks 8-5. The Chucks scored first in the second on a wild pitch. Wisconsin scored again in the fourth on an RBI single by Brandt Broussard (LSU). The Growlers took the lead though in the sixth when Ivan Johnson (Georgia) started it with a solo shot and Jonathan Foster (Florida State) knocked in two from a single. Kalamazoo scored two in the seventh, but Wisconsin got one in the bottom half from an RBI single. The Chucks then got a pair in the bottom of the ninth when Reese Alexiades (Pepperdine) went deep. Then the Growlers put up three in the 11th on an RBI fielder’s choice by Johnson, a pass ball and sac fly for the eventual game-winner.
Mankato 4, Bismarck 2
The Mankato MoonDogs used the middle innings to build a lead and defeat the Bismarck Larks 4-2. Mankato got one in the third on an RBI double by Garrett Mitchell (UCLA). They scored again in the fourth on an RBI single. Mankato got a pair in the fifth when Zac Wiley (Bellarmine) went deep. Bismarck then got on the board from an RBI single by Michael Farnell (West Florida). The Larks scored again in the sixth on an RBI single. The Mankato bullpen then threw the final 4 scoreless as Zach Hardy (New Mexico State) converted his ninth save.
Eau Claire 2, Duluth 6
The Duluth Huskies took the lead in the fifth and defeated the Eau Claire Express 6-2. The Huskies got on the board in the second form an RBI single by Tony Monroy (Georgetown). The Express scored its only two in the third from Adam LaRock (MATC) knocking in both on a single. Duluth got one in the third and then another in the fifth on an error. The Huskies got three more in the sixth when Monroy hit an RBI single while T. Holdgrafer (Cal Poly Pomona) threw the final two innings in relief to end the game.
Fond du Lac 3, Wisconsin Rapids 6
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters used two innings to build a lead and defeat the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 6-3. Fondy got a pair in the second on an error and a run-scoring single from Chris Ayers (Indiana State). The Rafters took the lead with three in the third on three errors and a double from Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV). Rapids got another three on two errors in the fourth. The Spiders managed one in the sixth on an error, but Hunter Waldis (Seton Hall) came on for Rapids with his second save.
Waterloo 8, St. Cloud 2
The Waterloo Bucks scored in the first four innings and defeated the St. Cloud Rox 8-2. Ethan Ibarra (St. Cloud State) knocked in two for the Rox in the first. The Bucks scored another pair in the second and then consecutive RBI singles from Brendan Hueth (St. Josephs) and Kyle Smith (Butler). Both teams got solo shots from Carmen Sclafani (Rutgers) for the Bucks and Ricardo Sanchez (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) for the Rox. St. Cloud scored once again in the eighth, but the Bucks held on to give Robert Reaser (Lewis and Cark) his second win with seven innings while striking out seven.
Madison 5, Kenosha 14
The Kenosha Kingfish used the sixth inning to build a lead and defeated the Madison Mallards 14-5. The Mallards got one in the opening inning on an RBI single by Jake Randa (NW Florida State). Kenosha took the lead in the bottom half on a hit by pitch and sac fly with the bases loaded. Kenosha got another in the fourth and then three more in the fifth on bases loaded walks and a sac fly. The Kingfish got five as Marty Bechina (Michigan State) jacked a grand slam. Kenosha got another three in the seventh from two more errors. The Mallards did get one in the eighth. Three more came in the ninth from home runs by Nick Gile (Michigan State) and Trevor Schwecke (UW-Milwaukee), but the next guy flew out to end the game.
Willmar 8, La Crosse 10
The La Crosse Loggers battled through the late innings and defeated the Willmar Stingers 10-8. The Loggers got five in the opening inning as Korey Lee (Cal) hit a three-run shot. The Stingers got three in the second on an error and RBI single by Jaxon Hallmark (Nebraska). Willmar tied it in the fifth on a bases loaded walk and an RBI single by Joey Ortiz (New Mexico State). The Stingers took the lead in the seventh, but the Loggers retook the lead in the seventh on a two-run single by Mike Rothenberg (Duke). The La Crosse got a pair from Harrison Freed (Butler) going deep. Willmar managed two in the ninth, but the final guy grounded out to end the game.
Green Bay 11, Lakeshore 3
The Green Bay Bullfrogs used the first four innings to build a lead and defeat the Lakeshore Chinooks 11-3. Green Bay added two in the opening inning as Riley Mihalik (Rider ) hit a single. They got four more in the second when Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo (Navarro) went deep and Mihalik hit an RBI double. Three more runs scored in the third and then another came in the fourth. The Chinooks got one in the sixth and another in the seventh, but Cardoza-Oquendo went deep again in the eighth as the Frogs bullpen ended the game.
Schedule for August 6:
Willmar @ Eau Claire (5:05 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Chinook (6:35 PM)
Green Bay @ Wisconsin (6:35 PM)
Thunder Bay @ Waterloo (6:35 PM)
Bismarck @ Mankato (7:05 PM)
Duluth @ Rochester (7:05 PM)
Battle Creek @ Wisconsin Rapids (7:05 PM)
Rockford @ Kenosha (7:05 PM)
St. Cloud @ La Crosse (7:05 PM)
Kalamazoo @ Madison (7:05 PM)
Eau Claire @ Willmar (7:30 PM)
