Thursday’s contests featured an 11 game slate with a few split series and a dramatic pitchers duel between the Green Bay Rockers and Wisconsin Rapid Rafters. The Rockers are now the only team that have a 4-0 undefeated start to the 2023 season.
Battle Creek 7, Kalamazoo 12
Battle Creek had an early lead after scoring three in the first inning. Until Kalamazoo’s offense unleashed in the fourth inning, driving in nine runs to take the lead. Kalamazoo defeated Battle Creek in a 12-7 battle. They are now even with a record of 2-2.
Joshua Robinson (Davenport) went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Cam Farrar (Findlay) had two RBI on the day while Coltrane Rubner (Davenport) was 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Battle Creek’s offense could not produce after the sixth after a four run inning to cut their lead to five. The Battle Jacks pitching staff combined for 15 hits and 13 strikeouts.
Kevin Krill (Oakland) led the Growlers in offense, hitting .500 after going 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Center fielder, Lawson Knight (Kansas St) went 3-for-3 with two RBI, two walks, and two runs scored. Mason Meeks (Drury) gets the win for the Growlers after throwing 5.2 innings. He gave up 11 hits, 1 walk, 7 runs, and had 6 strikeouts.
Madison 6, Fond du Lac 5
The Mallards defeats Fond du Lac after taking the lead in the eighth to win 6-5. They are now 3-1 on the season.
The Dock Spiders held their opponents to zero runs through the second and seventh innings. However, Mallards capitalized on defensive miscues and strung a few together to get four across in the bottom of the seventh. The Spider had a chance with runners on in the ninth, but could not drive the go ahead across. Their pitching staff combined for 9 hits and 5 strikeouts.
Dylan Nevar (Western Michigan) went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Korbyn Dickerson (Louisville) went 2-for-3 at the plate with one RBI. Bryce Leedle (St. Thomas) gets the win for the Mallards after throwing 2 innings. He gave up 2 hits, 3 walks, 2 runs, and had 5 strikeouts in 59 pitches.
Green Bay 8, Wisconsin 2
The Rockers stay hot as they are now 4-0 on the season after winning the series against the Wisconsin Rapid Rafters 8-2. They tallied twelve hits and one error in Thursday evening’s contest.
Four hitters in the Rockers lineup had a double on the evening and seven each tacked one run across tonight. Kyle West (Charleston) went 2-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Jacob Young (Fairmont St) gets the win for the Rockers after throwing 1 inning. He gave up 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 runs, and had 2 strikeouts.
Traverse City 5, Kokomo 2
The Pit Spitters had an exciting night with a 10 inning victory over the Jackrabbits Thursday evening.
The Traverse City Pit Spitters split the series 1-1 against the Kokomo Jackrabbits winning 5-2. The Pit Spitters didn’t score until the fourth inning, then scored three at the top of the tenth to take the lead. Riley Frost (North Georgia) went 2-for-4 with one run at the plate. Camden Traficante (Embry Riddle) had two hits with two runs scored. Nate Blain (Madonna) was the winning pitcher for the Pit Spitters throwing 3 innings with 3 strikeouts.
Minot 6, Mankato 3
Minot splits the series with the Mankato Moondogs after shutting down the Moondogs in a 6-3 effort Thursday evening. They earned their first win in franchise history and are now 1-3.
Thomas Rollauer (Citadel) led the Hot Tots offense this evening after going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBI. Paxton Miller (University of Mary) gets the win for Minot after throwing 5 innings. He gave up 3 hits, 3 walks, 1 run, and had 3 strikeouts. Noah Hull went 1-for-3 with a homerun and two RBI at the plate for the Moondogs.
Waterloo 7, La Crosse 5
A tight matchup between the Waterloo Bucks and La Crosse Loggers end with the Bucks upsetting their opponent in a 7-5 contest. La Crosse now lost their win streak and are now 3-1 to start the season.
The Bucks rallied back to defeat the La Crosse Loggers, tacking four runs at the top of the ninth to secure the go ahead win. Blake Burris (Arkansas St) went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a home run and one RBI. Drake Westcott (Illinois) had four RBI on the evening while Brodie Kresser (West Virginia) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a homerun and two RBI to contribute to the Bucks offense. Patrick Mastrian (Miami University Ohio) threw the first six innings with 10 strikeouts giving up only 6 hits.
St. Cloud 9, Bismarck 5
The St. Cloud Rox defeated the Bismarck Larks to take second game of the series 9-5. Bismarck loses their first game now making them 3-1 on the season.
The Rox struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the first after a leadoff triple by Ben Vujovich (St. Thomas) to start the game. He went 4-for-6 with a double, triple, and two runs scored. Ike Mezzenga (Minnesota) was 3-for-4 with two runs scored as well. Tyler Curtis (Colorado St) had the win on the mound throwing the first 7 innings with 8 strikeouts. The Rox’s offense generated 14 hits in Thursday’s contest.
Thunder Bay 0, Rochester 7
Rochester defeated Thunder Bay to even the series matchup 1-1 Thursday evening.
The Honkers offense remained solid with getting runners on and stringing timely hits together. Griffin Sotomayor (Washington St) drove in the games first run on an RBI single to center field, giving Rochester the early lead in the first. Jakob Guardado (Pasadena City College) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. Max Meyer (Frontier College) gets the win for the Honkers after throwing 5 innings. He gave up 3 hits, 2 walks, 0 runs, and had 8 strikeouts.
Kenosha 4, Rockford 5
A tight matchups results in a 5-4 victory for the Rivets. They now have their first win of the season after defeating Kenosha in an intense battle.
Carson Roberts (Illinois – Chicago) went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. AJ Henkle (Illinois – Chicago) was 2-for-3, scoring twice off Roberts this game. E Storm had eight strikeouts after only giving up 5 hits, 4 walks and 0 walks for the Rivets staff tonight.
Lakeshore 11, Wausau 15
The Wausau Woodchucks take the series against the Lakeshore Chinooks this evening after tallying 13 hits and one error. They now record three wins to start the season.
The Chinooks struck first, scoring three runs in the top of the first with an RBI groundout from Austin Gomm (Parkland College) to get the games first run across. Matt Del Sol (Grayson College) went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Jesse Donohoe (Georgia St) led his team in runs and RBI with four on the night. He went 3-for-3 with one homerun. Nate Nabholz (Towson University) gets the win for the Woodchucks after throwing 5 innings. He gave up 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 run, and had 7 strikeouts.
Eau Claire 11, Willmar 7
The Eau Claire Express rallied to get their first win of the season against the Willmar Stingers. The Stingers split the series and their record 1-1.
The Express combined for 15 hits and one error on the field. Ryan Nagelbrach (Illinois – Chicago) went 2-for-4 with a homerun and one RBI. Jason Krol (Lewis University) also had two hits and one RBI on the evening. Spencer Wright (Minnesota St – Mankato) was the starting pitcher throwing 5.2 innings with 3 strikeouts allowing seven runs to score.
Friday (6/2) Schedule:
Kokomo vs Kalamazoo (6:35 PM)
Traverse City vs Kenosha (6:35 PM)
Madison vs Lakeshore (6:35 PM)
Battle Creek vs Rockford (6:35 PM)
Wausau vs Green Bay (6:35 PM)
Wisconsin vs Fond du Lac (6:35 PM)
Mankato vs Rochester (6:35 PM)
Thunder Bay vs Waterloo (6:35 PM)
Minot vs Duluth (6:35 PM)
Willmar vs Bismarck (6:35 PM)
Minnesota vs Eau Claire (7:05 PM)
La Crosse vs St. Cloud (7:05 PM)
