Willmar, Mankato, La Crosse and Duluth all won tonight, as the four teams separate each other by 1.5 games with two to play.
Fond du Lac 1, Rockford 3 (Game 1)
The Rockford Rivets held on in a pitcher’s duel and defeated the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 3-1 in a game that was made up from last night. Both team’s traded runs in the fourth, Rockford then scored in the sixth and eighth which was good enough to win the game. Parker Bates (Louisiana Tech) came up big in the win as he hit an RBI double to put the Rivets ahead. Anthony Holubecki (Notre Dame) threw five and struck out five and Nate Schneiderman (Dubuque) threw 2.1 and struck out four to end the game.
Duluth 5, Waterloo 4
The Duluth Huskies used the middle innings to retake the lead and defeat the Waterloo Bucks 5-4. Waterloo got one in the opening inning on a bases loaded walk. The Huskies tied it in the second on an RBI single by Tony Monroy (Georgetown). The Bucks went ahead with two in the bottom half off an error. Duluth got one of their own from an error in the third, but the Bucks scored once more in the fourth. The Huskies got a sac fly in the fifth and then took the lead from Nicholas Sogard (Loyola-Marymount) knocking in two from a single in the sixth. Jack Corbell (Miami (OH)) threw the final three scoreless for the Huskies and struck out four for his third save.
Battle Creek 3, Lakeshore 1
The Battle Creek Bombers held the Lakeshore Chinooks scoreless through eight innings and won the game 3-1. The Bombers got a pair in the third on a home run by Jordan Swiss (Saginaw Valley State). Battle Creek scored again in the fourth. Michael McCraith (Wheaton) threw eight scoreless, allowed just four hits and three walks while striking out ten for his fifth win. Kevin Tibor (Carthage) threw eight for Lakeshore, allowed just the three runs and struck out six. The Chinooks struck for one in the ninth on an RBI ground out, but the next guy struck out to end the game.
Fond du Lac 5, Rockford 2 (Game 2) (7 Innings)
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders used a big first inning to take the lead and defeat the Rockford Rivets 5-2. Two came across on errors and another two came from RBI singles by Jack Wassel (Minnesota) and Braden Stutzman (Oregon). Fondy put up another in the fourth and then the Rivets scored on consecutive wild pitches. Jon Young (Indiana Wesleyan) then threw the final inning and picked up his first save.
Thunder Bay 7, St. Cloud 9
The St. Cloud Rox scored six in the sixth and defeated the Thunder bay Border Cats 9-7. The Rox got three in the second as Ryan Davis (Georgetown) hit an RBI double and two more came around from an error. Thunder Bay scored once in the third and then took the lead in the sixth as Clayton Bodine (Augsburg) and Calen Schwabe (Des Moines Area CC) hit RBI singles. St. Cloud managed to retake the lead in the sixth as Ricardo Sanchez (Arkansas Pine-Bluff) got a two-run double and Michael Borst (Minot State) hit one of his own. The Cats got two more in the eighth, but Finn Del Bonta-Smith (San Jose State) threw the final inning scoreless for his eighths save.
Mankato 9, Eau Claire 0
The Mankato MoonDogs one-hit the Eau Claire Express and won the game 9-0. Nathan Hickey (Tarleton) took a no-hitter into the seventh for the MoonDogs while striking out eight batters. Mankato got its first in the second when CJ Huntley (Indiana State) hit a solo shot. The Dogs got another pair in the sixth on two errors. Mankato put up six in the eighth as Kenton Crews (Evansville ) hit a grand slam while the bullpen held on and sent the Express down in-order to end the game.
Rochester 1, Willmar 7
The Willmar Stingers used the middle innings to take the lead and defeated the Rochester Honkers 7-1. The Honkers got one in the fourth when Christian Robinson (Stanford) went deep. Tyler Reichenborn (Iowa Western) hit a three-run shot then for the Stingers in the bottom half. Willmar got another four in the next inning as John Trousdale (Alabama) and Eric Yang (UCSB) both hit base-knocks. Noah Fluman (San Diego State) threw five in his start for the Stingers, allowed just one run on four hits and one walk while striking out two for his second win.
Wisconsin 2, Wisconsin Rapids 3
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters took the lead in the eighth and defeated the Wisconsin Woodchucks 3-2. The Chucks got on the board first in the fourth on a sac fly from Nick Loftin (Baylor). Javier Valdes (FIU) did the same thing in the next inning for Wisconsin. Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV) got one in the fifth on a sac fly and tied it on an RBI fielder’s choice in the seventh. Alex Fedje-Johnson (Davidson) knocked in an unearned run in the eighth on a single to give Rapids the lead for good.
Kenosha 8, Kalamazoo 3
The Kenosha Kingfish scored big in the first inning and defeated the Kalamazoo Growlers 8-3. They got six right away. Jack Weiller (Virginia) doubled in two and then Carson McCusker (Oklahoma State) cleared the bases on a double later on. The Growlers managed two in the second on consecutive base hits from George Mendazona (Oregon State) and Kawamee Moss (Kalamazoo Valley CC). Kalamazoo got another in the sixth, but Kenosha scored once in the seventh. Kenosha got another in the ninth while the bullpen threw the final 3.1 to end the game.
Green Bay 9, Madison 8
The Green Bay Bullfrogs used a big fifth inning to build a lead and defeat the Madison Mallards 9-8. Madison got a pair in the opening inning when Tyler Plantier (Richmond) hit a homer. The Mallards got another four in the third when Jake Randa (NW Florida State) homered in three. The Bullfrogs got on the board on a two-run shot by Preston Pavlica (Grand Canyon). Green Bay then exploded for six in the fifth. Blaise Maris (Florida Tech) hit a two-run shot and Blake Nelson (Michigan) tripled in two. Keaton Smith (Nevada) hit a solo shot for the Frogs in the sixth, but the Mallards put up another two in the eighth on an error. David Troth (Hillsdale) then came on to pitch the final 1.1 for his fourth save.
La Crosse 9, Bismarck 3
The La Crosse Loggers used two late innings to take the lead and defeat the Bismarck Larks 9-3. The Larks put up one unearned run in the third. Then in the fifth La Crosse went off for five. Bryce Blaum (Texas A&M) led off the inning with a homer as they got consecutive RBI singles and then two bases loaded walks. The Loggers put up four in the seventh as Steve Mann (Duke) hit a two-run single. Bismarck battled for a pair in the ninth as Braden Williams (New Mexico State) hit a two-RBI single, but the next two went down to end the game.
Schedule for August 11:
Rockford @ Kenosha (6:05 PM)
La Crosse @ Mankato (6:05 PM)
Duluth @ Bismarck (6:05 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Madison (6:05 PM)
Green Bay @ Wisconsin Rapids (6:05 PM)
Wisconsin @ Lakeshore (6:35 PM)
St. Cloud @ Eau Claire (6:35 PM)
Rochester @ Waterloo (6:35 PM)
Battle Creek @ Kalamazoo (7:05 PM)
Willmar @ Thunder Bay (7:35 PM)
