Published On: July 3rd, 2020

It was a night full of late-inning comebacks Friday night in the Northwoods League, which provided no shortage of entertainment.

Michigan Pod
Battle Creek Bombers 2, Kalamazoo Growlers 0
It was a pitcher’s paradise on Friday, as the Bombers narrowly beat the Growlers, with the two teams combining for 13 hits. One of the few offensive leaders was Battle Creek’s Jimmy Wressel (Concordia University), who was 2-4 with a run scored. T.J. McKenzie (Vanderbilt) and Justin VanDeBrake (Washington State) both had RBis for the Bombers. Ryan Middendorf (Lake Erie College) got the start for the Bombers and threw three and two-third innings, allowing no runs and recording four strikeouts. Drew Szczepaniak (Western Michigan) got the win, throwing one and one-third of an inning, with a strikeout. Thomas Schultz (Vanderbilt) picked up the save, throwing two innings with three strikeouts.

Great Lakes Resorters 11, Northern Michigan Dune Bears 2
The Resorters wasted no time on Friday, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning to boost them to a win over the Dune Bears. Dalton Chandler (Washington) led the Resorters offense, going 2-4 at the plate with a run scored and four runs batted in. Gabriel Hughes (Gonzaga) got the start for Great Lakes and threw three perfect innings, racking up four strikeouts before giving way to Brody Maynard (Daytona State), who threw one inning, allowing a hit and recording two strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

Wisconsin/Illinois Pod
Green Bay Booyah 5, Rockford Rivets 3
The Booyah picked up their first win of the 2020 season on Friday, as they scored three runs in the second inning, thanks in part to a 2-RBI single from Grant Emme (Eastern Illinois). He would end up leading the Booyah offense, going 3-4 with a double and three RBI. Brady West (North Greenville University) went 2-3 at the plate, with a double and a run scored while Chris Seng (Louisville) was 1-2 with a pair of runs scored. Avery Stevens (St. Cloud State) picked up the win for Green Bay, throwing two innings, allowing just two walks. Chandler Ingram (University of Montevallo) recorded his first save of the season, throwing two innings, allowing a run and recording three strikeouts.

Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 12, Wisconsin Woodchucks 6
The Rafters turned on the offense in the closing innings, scoring nine of their 12 runs in the sixth inning or later as they slipped past the Woodchucks. Kyle Teel (Virginia) provided plenty of power on his own, blasting two home runs and recording three RBI for the Rafters. He wasn’t the only one to hit a homer, as Andy Garriola (Old Dominion) hit one of his own and also knocked in three RBI. Jimmy Borzone (Dixie State) picked up his first save of the season, throwing two and one-third of an inning, recording three strikeouts.

La Crosse Loggers 7, Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 6
The Loggers scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to slip past the Dock Spiders on Friday night. The winning run came across the plate when Luke Brown (Louisville) reached base on an error by the shortstop, which allowed Colin Burgess (South Carolina) to score. Trey Harris (Arkansas) led the Loggers offense, going 1-4 with a third inning grand slam that got them on the board. Sam Novitske (Oregon) led the Dock Spiders, going 3-4 on the game with a double and an RBI to raise his season batting average to .750.

North Dakota Pod
Bismarck Larks 9, Bismarck Bull Moose 6
The Larks needed a late rally on Friday night to slip past the Bull Moose in another high-scoring game in the North Dakota pod. Wyatt Urlich (Richmond) had a stellar night for the Larks, going 4-5 at the plate with a double and three runs scored. Brant Schaffitzel (Drury) and Brody Tanksley (Indiana University Southeast) both had two RBI for the Bismarck offense. Lorenzo Debrecht (Toledo) provided some offense for the Bull Moose, as he went 1-5, with the one hit being a home run. Seth Brewer (Northern State) got the start for the Larks on the mound and threw five solid innings, allowing four runs while striking out six Bull Moose batters.

Minnesota Pod
Willmar Stingers 7, Waterloo Bucks 6
The Stingers were able to hold off a ninth-inning rally from the Bucks to take home a narrow 7-6 road win. After Waterloo scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to get within one run, they got Xane Washington (Nicholls State) to second, but Willmar’s Wyatt Thompson (Chapman University) was able to get Oraj Anu (Kentucky) to fly out to left field to end the game. Tyler Wilver (Southeast Missouri State) only had one hit on the night for the Stingers, but he racked up three RBI while Griffin Cheney (Georgia State) and Ryan Johnson (Pepperdine) both had two RBI. Jonathan Brand (Miami University Ohio) picked up the win for Willmar, throwing two relief innings, allowing one run and two hits with one strikeout.

St. Cloud Rox 13, Rochester Honkers 2
The Rox opened the floodgates on the Honkers late in the game, as they scored eight runs in the eighth and two in the top of the ninth to pull away for their second win of the season. Jordan Barth (Augustana) continued his hot start to the season for St. Cloud, going 2-3 with three RBI and a run scored to raise his batting average to .455. Sam Ireland (Minnesota) was 2-5 with a pair of RBI. Robert Moore (Arkansas) provided some of Rochester’s offense, as he blasted a home run to lead off the fourth inning. Noah Myhre (Minot State) picked up the win for the Rox, throwing two perfect innings, recording five strikeouts.

Saturday, July 4 schedule (All times Central unless noted)
Mandan Flickertails vs Bismarck Larks 12:35/7:35 p.m.
Rochester Honkers at Willmar Stingers 1:05/7:05 p.m.
Rockford Rivets at Green Bay Booyah 4:35 p.m.
Kalamazoo Growlers vs Kalamazoo Mac Daddies 6:35 p.m. ET
Great Lakes Resorters vs Traverse City Pit Spitters 7:05 p.m. ET
Fond du Lac Dock Spiders at La Crosse Loggers 6:05 p.m.
Wisconsin Woodchucks at Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 6:35 p.m.
Mankato Moondogs at Waterloo Bucks 6:35 p.m.

 

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