The Stingers got the win they needed to win the second half north by a half game over Mankato. The clinched the one seed and will host the four-seed Mankato MoonDogs tomorrow. Bismarck was already in from winning the first half and will play host to Duluth. Madison won the first half and overall standings for the number one seed. The Mallards will play Fond Du Lac while the second half champions Kenosha Kingfish will host Kalamazoo.
Kenosha 8, Rockford 3
The Kenosha Kingfish went off for 15 hits and defeated the Rockford Rivets 8-3. The Kingfish scored first in the opening inning on an RBI single by Will Wagner (Liberty). Another scored in the second and third, but Rockford got two in the bottom half from Kian O’Brien (Kent State) hitting a single. The Rivets tied it in the fourth on an error. Kenosha retook the lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Carson McCusker (Oklahoma State). They got two more in the sixth and another pair in the ninth on a two-run shot by Jack Weiller (Virginia ). Alex McIntosh (UW-Milwaukee) then threw the final two scoreless and picked up his first save.
Madison 6, Fond du Lac 4
The Madison Mallards allowed the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders to score in just one inning and won the game 6-4. Madison got one in the opening inning on an RBI single by Drew Ober (UNC Charlotte). The Mallards scored two more in the third on a bases loaded walk and RBI ground out. Fondy took the lead with four in the fourth on a two-run single by Cole Zabowski (Ole Miss). The Mallards tied it in the seventh on an RBI single by David Vinsky (Northwood). They then took the lead with two RBI singles in the eighth. Mitch Vogrin (Illinois State) threw two in relief, struck out four for his first win and Karsten Lee (Menlo) threw the final inning and picked up his first save.
Duluth 11, Bismarck 7
The Duluth Huskies used a big third inning and defeated the Bismarck Larks 11-7. Bismarck got an unearned run in the second. Duluth then went off for six in the third as half those runs came home from Christian Jones (Washington) going deep. Reed Hjelle (UM Crookston) hit a homer for Duluth in the fifth, but the Larks got an RBI single from Jeff Mayes (Aurora). Hjelle knocked in another two in the seventh and then the Huskies scored a pair in the eighth. Bismarck did manage five in the eighth as Ripken Reyes (San Diego) hit a three-run shot and two more came from an error. Kyle Mora (UC San Diego) then threw the final inning and ended the game.
Willmar 7, Thunder Bay 1
The Willmar Stingers used a big third inning and defeated the Thunder Bay Border Cats 7-1. Willmar got six in the third on a grand slam from Eric Yang (UCSB) and Matt Rudick (San Diego State) knocked in two from a single. The Stingers got another in the sixth and then Thunder Bay got their one and only in the eighth on an RBI single by Trevor Gillette (Des Moines Area CC). Jonathan McKinney (Georgia Gwinnett) threw five scoreless and allowed just two hits and two walks, struck out three for his fifth win.
St. Cloud 9, Eau Claire 2
The St. Cloud Rox used a big fifth inning and defeated the Eau Claire Express 9-2. The Rox got one in the fourth. St. Cloud then exploded for six in the fifth. It was started by Noah Hill (BYU) knocking in two from a single and Ricardo Sanchez (Arkansas Pine Bluff) doing the same later on. The Rox got a pair in the sixth, but Adam LaRock (MATC) knocked in two for Eau Claire in the seventh on a single. Zach Lauzon (Concordia-St. Paul) threw seven strong, struck out five and earned his third win.
Rochester 6, Waterloo 4
The Rochester Honkers scored an insurance run in the ninth and defeated the Waterloo Bucks 6-4. The Bucks scored first in the third. They got another on an RBI double play in the fourth, but the Honkers took the lead with three in the fifth on a homer by Alex McGarry (Oregon State). They got another pair in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Logan Denholm (UC Davis) and Casey Dunlap (Point Loma Nazarene). Waterloo put up a pair in the eighth on a single from Greg Anderberg (Ellsworth CC). Nate Webb led off the ninth with a homer for Rochester while Joshua Ibarra (Concordia Irvine) converted his 11th save.
Wisconsin Rapids 8, Green Bay 3
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters limited the Green Bay Bullfrogs to just one inning of scoring and won the game 8-3. Rapids got three in the first as Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV) and Mitch Mallek (St. Cloud State) both came up with RBI singles. The Rafters put up another one in the fourth on a wild pitch and then two more in the fifth on a two-run single by Alex Fedje-Johnson (Davidson). The Frogs managed to get on the board with three from three errors and a single by Blake Nelson (Michigan). Rapids got two in the eighth on two errors while they emptied the bullpen to end the game.
Battle Creek 3, Kalamazoo 17
The Kalamazoo Growlers used a big fourth inning and defeated the Battle Creek Bombers 17-3. Kalamazoo got one in the opening inning. Battle Creek got a pair in the second on an error and a sac fly. The Growlers got four in the third as two came from Niko Kavadas (Notre Dame) hitting a two-run single. They got seven then in the fourth when Jarett Smetana (Kent State) knocked in two from a single and Anthony Cocco (Kankakee CC) cleared the bases from a triple. The Growlers got five in the sixth on two errors and a two-run shot by Matt Mervis (Duke). The Bombers got one more in the eighth while Ben Wheaton (Trine) threw seven innings, allowed two run, one earned and struck out two for his first win.
Wisconsin 8, Lakeshore 1
The Wisconsin Woodchucks used a big fourth inning and defeated the Lakeshore Chinooks 8-1. Wisconsin got six in the fourth as Peter Ahn (Michigan State) hit a three-run shot. The Chucks got another pair in the eighth when Reese Alexiades (Pepperdine) started things with an RBI single. Lakeshore then got one in the bottom half The Chucks though threw six pitchers as Frank Frate (Walsh) threw two for the win and Lennon Gwizdala (Northwood) struck out the side in the ninth.
La Crosse 3, Mankato 13
The Mankato MoonDogs scored early and often while defeating the La Crosse Loggers 13-3. The Loggers got two on a double from Grant Judkins (Iowa) in the second. Mankato took the lead in the bottom half with four as Brett Newberg (Austin Peay) knocked in two from a double. The Loggers managed one in the third, but the Dogs got another pair in the bottom half. Mankato put up one in the fifth and then another in the sixth while tacking on three in the seventh from a homer by Zac Wiley (Bellarmine). Mankato put up two in the eighth and retired the Loggers in the ninth to end the game.
Schedule for August 13:
Mankato @ Willmar (7:05 PM)
Duluth @ Bismarck (7:05 PM)
Fond du Lac @ Mankato (7:05 PM)
Kalamazoo @ Kenosha (7:05 PM)
