Great pitching was on display on Friday night in the Northwoods League with Ryan Bourassa of the Larks leading the way with nine strikeouts over six innings.
Kenosha 6, K-Town 0
The Kenosha Kingfish retook the lead in the 2020 Kenosha Series with a 6-0 win over the K-Town Bobbers at Simmons Field on Friday night. The Kingfish started the scoring in the 4th inning on a fielder’s choice by Drew Wiegman (Louisville) driving in Casey O’Laughlin (Illinois) for a 1-0 Kenosha lead. McKay Barney (BYU) added to Kenosha’s lead in the 5th inning with an RBI groundout that drove in Evan Albrecht (Purdue) and put the Kingfish up 2-0. The Kingfish went up 4-0 in the 6th inning on a two RBI single by Albrecht that scored O’Laughlin and Drew Wiegman (Louisville). Justin Barr (Akron) drove in two more runs for Kenosha in the 8th inning on a double to put the Kingfish up 6-0. Kyle Gendron (Winona State) started the combined shutout pitching 5.0 scoreless innings. Gendron gave up four hits and two walks while striking out four on the way to secure the win. Kai Murphy (Arizona State) continued the shutout for Kenosha out of the bullpen pitching 3.0 innings without allowing a run on three hits and a strikeout. Nathan Krueger (Quincy University) pitched a perfect 9th inning to secure the shutout. Luke Hansel (Madison College) took the loss pitching 2.0 innings in relief for K-Town allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. K-Town starter Kohl Simas (San Diego State) pitched 3.0 shutout innings allowing no hits while striking out five and walking one.
GAME 1: Battle Creek 5, Kalamazoo Mac Daddies 2 GAME TWO Battle Creek 3, Kalamazoo Mac Daddies 2
In the first, the Bombers looked to take advantage of a struggling Andrew Taylor (Central Michigan) who walked the first two batters and hit the third. After those three, Taylor was replaced by Dane Armbrustmacher (Western Michigan) who allowed just one run, as he forced Joe Mason (Mount Olive) to ground into a double play. On the play, Seth Tucker (Hendrix College) scored. The next batter, Bradley Goulet (Akron) then flew out to end the inning, as the Bombers took a 1-0 lead. The Mac Daddies were primed to respond in the bottom of the second, as they had runners on first and second with nobody out. Despite that, Christian Grigsby (Lamar) retired the next three batters and the score remained 1-0. In the third inning, Nate Stolze (Miami of Ohio) led off with a bang, as he hit a solo home run to extend the lead to two. The following half inning, the Mac Daddies tied the game at two via a handful of Bombers blunders. Brock Boynton (Quincy) led off with a double and later scored on a poor pickoff move by Grigsby which got by John Malcom (Tampa) . Right after Boynton’s double, Kyle Ashworth (Cal Poly) reached on an error by Malcom. Ashworth scored on single by Connor McGuire (UC, Irvine). Battle Creek retook its lead in the top of the fourth on the second home run of the afternoon. TJ McKenzie (Vanderbilt) drove the ball deep into the Miller Lite Bear Trap in left field for a 3-2 lead. The Bombers extended their lead in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs. Stolze led off with a walk and eventually crossed home after Justin Van De Brake (Washington State University) hit a ball into the right-center field gap for a double. The very next batter sent Van De Brake home, as Mason matched Van De Brake with an RBI double of his own. Grigsby worked a complete game in his longest appearance of the season. He ended the day allowing two runs off six hits and two walks. Grigsby added a season-high seven strikeouts. Taylor started for the Mac Daddies but could not record an out, as Sean Allison (Kalamazoo Valley CC) was named the losing pitcher. He worked two innings, allowing four runs on four hits and two home runs.
Game two saw some more pop in the bats from the Battle Creek Bombers, matching their home run total of two from game one. The Bombers and Mac Daddies were held scoreless through two after good starts from Kalamazoo’s Jack Huisman (Western Michigan) and Battle Creek’s Keith Carpenter (Maryland Eastern Shore). The third is when the scoring started. Bombers’ third basemen Josh Swinehart (Western Michigan) sent one into the night sky with two outs, a solo shot that put Battle Creek on top. The Mac Daddies matched it in their half of the third, on a Garrett Navarra (Central Michigan) fielder’s choice scoring Kyle Ashworth (Cal Poly). After three, it was knotted at one. The scoring continued for both teams in the fourth, each team pushing across another run. In the Bombers’ half, Justin Van De Brake (Washington State) teed off to start the fourth, the second homer of the game and fourth overall of the night for BC. The Mac Daddies did it unconventionally in their home half, Stuart Weyrich (Valdosta State) scoring on a balk from Bombers pitcher Drew Szczepaniak (Western Michigan). After four it was tied again, 2-2. The away half of the fifth is where the Bombers scored the winning run, with Seth Tucker (Hendrix College) scoring on a passed ball behind Kalamazoo catcher Kyle Nott (Central Michigan). The Mac Daddies couldn’t even it in the fifth, and took the second loss of the night and their sixth straight loss overall. Drew Szczepaniak picked up the win tonight for the Bombers, moving to 3-0 on the season.
Traverse City 5, Great Lakes 2
The Traverse City Pit Spitters once again enjoyed an outstanding pitching performance as they defeated the Great Lakes Resorters 5-2 in front of another sellout crowd Friday night at Turtle Creek Stadium. Five Traverse City pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts in the Spitters sixth-straight win. University of Illinois transfer and new team strikeout leader with 17, Andrew Hoffman, punched out six Great Lakes hitters through four innings of shutout baseball. Traverse City jumped all over Great Lakes starter, Derek Yoo (Columbia), piling on three runs in the top of the first inning, featuring an RBI-double from Crews Taylor (North Georgia), to take the early 3-0 advantage. The Pit Spitters added to their lead in the third frame as center fielder, Evan Maday (Hope College), roped an RBI-single – extending his hitting streak to six games – before crossing the plate on a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game. Resorters outfielder Kyle Riesselmann (Georgia State), opened the fifth with a triple before scoring on a sacrifice hit from Roman Kuntz (Lake Michigan College) to cut into the Spitters lead 5-1. Great Lakes loaded the bases in the seventh inning with just one out but were only able to notch one lone run as Spitters setup man, Evan Hiatt (San Jacinto JC), struck out Christian Garcia (South Eastern Louisiana) before inducing a pop out to tight rope out of trouble and send the Spitters to their 11th win on the campaign. Traverse City relief arm and team-leader in wins, Pat Hohlfeld (Jefferson) (3-0), tossed two innings of one-run baseball in his third win on the season. Great Lakes starter, Derek Yoo (0-2), surrendered five runs – three earned – on eight hits and only one strikeout in his second loss on the campaign.
Waterloo 8, Mankato 2
The Mankato MoonDogs dropped the first of two games in Iowa this weekend against the Waterloo Bucks, 8-2, Friday. Waterloo’s big third inning, despite only getting a hit, saw them score five runs and get help from the MoonDogs defense with a couple walks and an error. As a result, the Bucks eventually handed the MoonDogs their third loss in a row while winning their fifth straight. The Bucks scored another pair for insurance in the fifth. Tristan Peterson (Washington State) logged the first RBI on a single. The second run scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-0. Mankato avoided being shutout in the seventh. After Jake Thompson (Oklahoma State) led off the inning with a single, he later scored on a bases -loaded walk taken by Tanner Craig (Evansville). Max Wright (Indiana State) followed suit and scored in the next at bat when Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) drew a bases-loaded walk. It was a 7-2 game after the seventh at Riverfront Stadium. Peterson added another RBI to his Friday resume with a sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it 8-2 Bucks, where it would ultimately finish.
Fond du Lac 8, La Crosse 7
The Dock Spiders defeated the Loggers on Friday night on a walk off wild pitch to end the game. Both teams scored two runs in the first inning to start the night off. The first Loggers run scored on a bases loaded walk to JT Thompson (Texas State). This was followed by a second bases loaded walk to Blake Klassen (Arizona). The Dock Spiders would answer back in the bottom of the inning as Aaron Anderson (Liberty) would knock in two with a double to center field. Fond du Lac would add single runs in the third and sixth innings to take a 4-2 lead. The Loggers would then score two in the eighth to tie the game and the Dock Spiders would answer with two runs of their own to pull back ahead. The Loggers would add three in the ninth to go up by one and the Dock Spiders would tie it up in the bottom of the inning with a two out error allowing Jack Alexander (Austin Peay) to reach first and Ryan Ritter (Kentucky) to score. The Loggers would go down in order in the top of the tenth before Sam Novitske (Oregon) would score after consecutive wild pitches by Cam Wynne (Nebraska).
St. Cloud 7, Willmar 5
Despite beating the Rox four times at Bill Taunton Stadium this season, the Stingers have yet to pick up a win at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud in 2020 as they drop game one of a two-game series Friday night 7-5. The Rox bats got going early, tallying one in the first. However, the bulk of their production came in the third inning. Nate Rombach (Texas Tech) hit his third home run of the season, a towering three-run shot to highlight a five-run St. Cloud inning. Those six runs ended up being enough to pull out a win. Willmar got production sporadically from their bats as well. Tyler Wilber (Southeast Missouri State) hit a sac fly in the first to score Jaxon Hallmark (Nebraska). Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) drove in a run with a sac fly of his own in the third. Jayson Newman (Cal State, Northridge) ripped a double to score a run in the fifth. In the sixth, Tyler Wilber (Southeast Missouri State) added to more RBI to his name on a two-run single. Despite constant inching back into the game, they were unable to get any runs across in the ninth, despite a couple of base runners. Kyle Scott (Cal Poly) was great in relief for the Stingers, pitching two and a third innings, striking out five.
Wisconsin Rapids 6, Green Bay 1
The Rafters pitching staff held the Booyah hitters to one run on three hits on Friday night in Green Bay. Rafters starter Spencer Arrighetti (Louisiana at Lafayette) went five innings allowing no hits and striking out eight. The Rafters notched single runs in the first and the sixth before pulling away in the 7th with a four run inning. The big hit came off the bat of Jack Thomas-Wold (Nevada, Las Vegas)as he launched a three run home run to right field. Noah Granet (Princeton) was the only Green Bay batter with more than one hit going two for four.
Bismarck Larks 13, Bismarck Bull Moss 4
The Larks got things going on Friday night in the bottom of the first when Brant Schaffitzel (Drury) doubled to score Wyatt Ulrich (Richmond) from second base. The Larks would add another run on a single by Connor Henriques (Santa Clara). The Larks would add single runs in the third and fourth innings before blowing open the game with a five run sixth inning. The big hit was a three run scoring double off the bat of Connor Henriques (Santa Clara). The Larks would add three more in the seventh with Christian Padilla (Boise State) leading the way with a run scoring double. The Bull Moose would put up a fight in the top of the eighth by scoring four runs. Peter Serruto (Rutgers) would knock in three of those runs with a bases clearing triple. The Larks would tack on another run in the bottom of the inning to end the scoring. Ryan Bourassa (Bismarck State) would pick up the win for the Larks pitching six innings and allowing no runs on five hits while striking out nine.
Saturday’s Schedule
| 12:35 pm (Central) | Bismarck Larks | Mandan Flickertails | Bismarck Municipal Ballpark | |
| 2:30 pm (Eastern) | Kalamazoo Growlers | Battle Creek Bombers | Homer Stryker Field | |
| 5:15 pm (Eastern) | Kalamazoo Growlers | Battle Creek Bombers | Homer Stryker Field | |
| 6:05 pm (Central) | St. Cloud Rox | Willmar Stingers | Joe Faber Field | |
| 7:05 pm (Eastern) | Traverse City Pit Spitters | Great Lakes Resorters | Turtle Creek Stadium | |
| 6:05 pm (Central) | La Crosse Loggers | Wisconsin Woodchucks | Copeland Park | |
| 6:05 pm (Central) | Kenosha Kingfish | K-Town Bobbers | Simmons Field | |
| 6:35 pm (Central) | Waterloo Bucks | Mankato MoonDogs | Riverfront Stadium | |
| 6:35 pm (Central) | Green Bay Booyah | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders | Capital Credit Union Park | |
| 8:00 pm (Eastern) | Kalamazoo Growlers | Battle Creek Bombers | Homer Stryker Field | |
| 7:05 pm (Central) | Bismarck Larks | Mandan Flickertails | Bismarck Municipal Ballpark |