June 2009
Fondon Shuts Down Express
RJ Fondon shut down the Eau Claire Expresss, in Eau Claire, to keep the Express from claiming sole possesion of 1st place in the South Division. Fondon (Florida International) kept the Express off balance all night as he pitched seven innings to earn the victory for the Duluth Huskies. Honorable Mention #1: Brad Mergen (Indian Hills CC) pitched a stellar seven-inning, three-hit affair as the Lunkers defeated the St. Cloud River Bats, 2-0. Honorable Mention #2: Ryan Demmin (UW-Oshkosh) hurled seven sparkling innings, allowing just five hits and striking out seven.
Pritchett Tosses 9th No-Hitter in NWL History
History was made Friday night at Athletic Park as Bobby Pritchett (Central Arkansas) threw the third no-hitter in Wisconsin Woodchucks history in front of 2,876 fans as he blanked the Green Bay Bullfrogs in a 4-0 victory. Pritchett was the story from the start as he struck out the first three batters he faced. He got into a bit of a jam and in the third as he walked two consecutive Bullfrogs, but he was able to work out of the jam and keep things scoreless. He did not allow a run or a hit and struck out 12 while walking just three.
Jaramillo’s Turn To Blank Bombers
Rudy Jaramillo (New Mexico) pitched the second complete game shutout in a row for the Express. He gave up only four hits and struck out seven hitters in his victory. Chris Odegaard (MSU-Mankato) tossed a complete game shutout Wednesday for the first place Express (11-3).
Odegaard Blanks Bombers
On a night that had several good pitching performances around the NWL it was near impossible to out-do Eau Clair's Chris Odegaard (MSU-Mankato). The right-hander pitched a complete game shutout and helped lead the Eau Claire Express to a 10-0 victory over Battle Creek to keep the Express in a tie for first and put the Bombers a game back. It was a huge day for Odegaard and it started in the Major League Baseball draft. Odegaard was selected in the twenty-third round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He allowed only two hits the entire game and seemed to get stronger as the game went on, not allowing a hit after the fourth inning. He struck out twelve batters while walking just two on the way to the victory.
Jansen Pitches Mallards Back Into First
Starting pitcher Matt Jansen (2-1) (Purdue) was in control from the get-go, in posting seven innings of shutout ball while only allowing four hits. He struck out four and walked just one. The win moves the Mallards (9-3) back into a first-place tie with Battle Creek and Eau Claire.
Robertson Out Duels Gates In Rochester Victory
Zach Robertson (Iowa) out did counterpart Aaron Gates (Pepperdine) and threw 7 shutout innings to lead the Rochester Honkers to a 1-0 victory over the La Crosse Loggers. The game was a 0-0 affair until the bottom of the 6th when Rochester was able to push a run across. Robertson allowed just four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks and improved to 2-1 on the season.
Lukanen Pitches Bullfrogs to Victory
Chuck Lukanen (Northern Illinois) shut down the Wisconsin Woodchucks on Sunday allowing only two hits in seven innings on the bump. He also struck out four and walked three to earn his second win of the season for the Green Bay Bullfrogs.
Patterson Gives Huskies Sweep of Nightly Awards
Matt Patterson (Creighton) pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for his first win of the season for Duluth. Patterson entered with the game tied at two and shut-out the Border Cats the rest of the way, allowing just two hits and striking out one. Player of the Night Andy Burns scored the winning run in the top of the ninth and Patterson took care of the 'Cats in the bottom half for the Duluth 3-2 victory.
Six Saves Already for Kline
Devan Kline (Central Michigan) punched out two in a scoreless ninth inning against Green Bay to pick up his sixth save for the 8-1 Eau Claire Express.Kline hasn't allowed a run in his six appearances totaling ten strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Gagnon Effective in Debut
Drew Gagnon (Long Beach State) arrived to Rochester, MN for the first time Wednesday, and on Thursday pitched the Rochester Honkers to a much needed victory. Gagnon made his debut for Rochester, starting on the hill against Mankato a day after the Honkers lost a pair of games to the MoonDogs (one a previous suspended game). Gagnon tossed six innings, allowing only three hits and one run while fanning nine. He departed the contest with a 4-1 lead and the Honkers were able to hold on for a 4-3 wins.
Sanchez Improves to 2-0; Express 6-1
Gera Sanchez (New Mexico JC) improved his record to 2-0 on the season and the Express improved to 6-1. The Express defeated the Brainerd Lunkers 6-2 in game one of a two game series. Sanchez, who made his first start since opening day, pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out seven batters in his work for first place Eau Claire (6-1).
Another Near No-Hitter For Alexandria and North Alabama
Three days removed from a brilliant performance by his North Alabama teammate, Mitch Handley duplicated the outing from Chase Porch, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning. And, like Porch, Handley surrendered his only hit with two out and the bases empty. A single up the middle by Sam Munson spoiled the no-no, the lone blemish on an otherwise sterling scorecard. Handley finished the outing after eight innings, issuing three walks while striking out six. He faced no more than 4 batters in an inning and did not allow a runner past first base.