The Northwoods League opening day featured 10 games with a thrilling 10 inning win by the Traverse City Pit Spitters and an offensive explosion by the Rockford Rivets. The Rivets combined a total of 18 hits scoring 19 runs on the day. The night ended with a Mankato Moondogs win which included the pitcher of the night, Nolan Pender (Bellarmine University) who threw 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts.

Fond du Lac Dock Spiders 11, Wausau Woodchucks 2

Nick Mitchell (Western Illinois University) went 4 for 5 with three singles, one triple and a hit by pitch for the Spiders. Austin Wagner (University of Mary) had the win on the mound with 6 innings pitched allowing 5 hits and 7 strikes outs. Ike Mezzenga (North Iowa Community College) went 3 for 4 scoring one of the two runs for the Woodchucks.

St.Cloud Rox 8, Waterloo Bucks 4

Josh Cowden (Brigham Young University) led the Rox’s with hits going 3 for 4 with a triple, single, hit by pitch and a walk. Charlie Condon (University of Georgia) had a double and a home run with a total of 3 RBI. Alec Patino (Iowa Western Community College) hit a home run in the second inning and doubled in the ninth.

Kenosha Kingfish 9, Kalamazoo Growlers 7 

Drake Westcott (University of Louisville) went 2 for 3 hitting his first home run of the season and scored 2 RBI. Jame Mcoy (University of Kentucky) went 2 for 4 with two singles and 1 RBI contributing to the 2 run lead by the Kenosha Kingfish. The freshman from the University of Mississippi had the win on the mound pitching 2.1 innings with 4 strikeouts.

Madison Mallards 3, Lakeshore Chinooks 2

Payton Smith (Georgia Gwinnett College) and Javier Beal (Southeastern Illinois College) both went 2 for 4 with two singles each for the Mallards. Marcus Cline (University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee) led the team with two hits including a single and double. This was a great defensive game with Dan Wright (Iowa Western Community College) having the win on the mound with 5.1 innings pitched and allowed only 2 hits.

Traverse City Pit Spitters 8, Battle Creek Battle Jacks 7 

Trey Truitt III (North Carolina State University) had three walks and  two singles scoring the winning run in the 10th inning. Dane Smitz (Aquinas College) went 2 for 4 with two back to back singles. Patrick Mills (Indiana University Kokomo) had a double and a single that scored 2 runs in the ninth sending them to extra innings.

Rockford Rivets 19, Kokomo Jackrabbits 3 

Johannes Haakenson (Concordia University of Wisconsin) led the offensive surge with 5 singles, 5 RBI and a stolen base. Ty Crittenberger (Western Kentucky) had 4 singles that drove in 4 runs. Jake Bilotta (Rockford University) and Trent Lawrence (Morton College) both went 2 for 3 with two RBI each. The Rivets together had 18 hits scoring the most runs for opening day.

 Rochester Honkers 5, Willmar Stingers 2 

Will Asby (Sacramento City College) led his team with three hits including a single, double and a home run scoring three runs in the third inning.  Alex Ritzer (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Kimo Fukofuka (San Jose State University) both had a single and a walk to contribute to the 5-2 win. The Honkers ended the game with five hits and Stingers with eight.

Green Bay Rockers 6, Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 5

Chase Hudson (Coastal Carolina University) had a day at the plate going 4 for 4 with three singles and a double scoring two of the six runs. Griffin Shelby (Wagner College) scored the winning run in the ninth inning with a single to the right fielder. The Rockers were able to out hit the Rafters with a total of 14 hits that scored 6 runs.

La Crosse Loggers 5, Eau Claire Express 2

The Loggers were able to take a three run lead in the third inning with a home run by Blaise Priester (Louisiana State University). They scored again in the fourth when Zac Rice (Chipola College) roped a double to center field. Zac went two 2 for 4 leading his team in hits for the day. Even though Express fell short to the Loggers, pitcher Jared Lessman made his first appearance of the season with 9 strikeouts in 4 innings.

Mankato Moondogs 8, Duluth Huskies 2

Nolan Pender (Bellarmine University) led his team on the mound pitching a total of 5.2 innings with 7 strikeouts. The offensive explosion in the eighth inning was generated by Boston Merila (University of Minnesota) who doubled, scoring three runs. Sean Ross (Indiana State University) also contributed, going 3 for 5 on the day with a home run in the third scoring two runs.