June 2009
Fyffe Goes The Distance To Blank Huskies
Matt Fyffe (Eastern Kentucky) was sensational on the hill for the Alexandria Beetles, blanking the Duluth Huskies 3-0 at Wade Stadium. Fyffe (1-1) surrendered six hits in the complete game shutout, walking two while striking out a season high five. Fyffe didn’t allow a runner past second base all night.
Varce Strikes out Nine in Bullfrogs 2-0 Win
It was Green Bay starter Zach Varce who won the pitcher’s duel on Sunday afternoon, as the Bullfrogs dropped the Waterloo Bucks in a 2-0 win. Varce (Portland) fanned nine Bucks’ batters and surrendered three hits over seven innings on the hill to earn his first win of the season. Varce pushed his league leading strikeout total to 49, which are 17 more than Tim Griffin (Rollins) of Mankato.
Ringenberg Steps Up For Eau Claire
Jon Ringenberg (Baylor), the every day first baseman for the Express, but made his second start on the mound Saturday night in the biggest game of the season so far. Ringenberg was fantastic in earning his first victory of the season as the Express took hold of first place with a 2-1 victory over Madison. Ringenberg gave up a run in the first inning, but did not look back after that. He pitched eight innings, allowing one run, four hits and struck out six Mallards. Honorable Mention: Mankato's John Brebbia (Elon) earned his first save of season by pitching 2.2 innings of near-perfect baseball. Brebbia entered the game in the seventh with the tying and go-ahead runs on third and second. He responded by striking out the next two Duluth hitters as he finished with five strikeouts while allowing just one hit in helping the MoonDogs expand their lead in the North Division.
Morgan K’s 10 Woodchucks
Matt Morgan (Purdue) impressed all 5,474 in attendance at the "Duck Pond" on Friday night by striking out a season-high 10 batters over six innings of work and propelling the Mallards to a 4-1 win over South Division rival, Wisconsin. Morgan (2-0) endured a one hour rain delay prior to the start of the game, but was unfazed. Morgan struck out the side in the top half of the first and third innings. A solo homerun was the only blemish for Morgan on the night.
Self Impressive In Madison Debut
Derek Self, welcome to Madison. Two days after arriving to the Capital City, the soon-to-be sophomore Louisville pitcher didn’t disappoint in his first start, shutting down the Wisconsin Woodchucks to give the Mallards a 4-1 victory Thursday night in Wausau. Self (1-0) only allowed three hits during his six innings of work while striking out three batters and walking just one. He was in control of the game from the very first pitch and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning.
Frymier Tosses 10th No-No In NWL History
On a night that included four shutouts St. Cloud's Kurtis Frymier one-upped the other stellar pitching performances by tossing the 10th no-hitter in NWL history. The third-year River Bat from Michigan State pitched the second no-no in River Bats history - in a 2-0, 7-inning win in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the La Crosse Loggers at Joe Faber Field. Frymier joined Wisconsin's Bobby Pritchett as the only Northwoods Leaguers to throw a no-hitter this season. Frymier also joined Thomas Diamond as the only River Bats to accomplish the feat. Frymier (1-1) escaped trouble in the first inning when two Loggers reached base on errors. He allowed the first of his two walks to start the second inning, but induced a double-play ball in the next at-bat. That began a string of 14 consecutive batters retired by Frymier.
O’Grady Tosses One-Hitter In Duluth
Dennis O'Grady (Duke) threw a complete game one-hitter, struck out nine, and walked only one to lead the Lunkers to a 1-0 victory over the Duluth Huskies at Wade Stadium. O'Grady is the first player to be named both Pitcher and Player of the Night as he was previously named the NWL Player of the Night on June 12. O'Grady's curveball and fastball were spot-on all night, and the lone hit he allowed came in the second inning. He retired the Huskies in the fifth by striking out all three guys he faced, and in eight of his nine innings pitched, he only faced three Duluth hitters.
Handley Handles MoonDogs
Mitch Handley (North Alabama) went seven strong innings as the Alexandria Beetles defeated the first place Mankato MoonDogs 2-1. Handley allowed just five hits and one run. He walked one and struck out two in earning his second Pitcher of the Night award this season and the third by a North Alabama pitcher (Chase Porch, ALX). Handley sat down the first eight batters of the game to get the Beetles off to a good start.
Bear Lifts ‘Cats With Complete Game Effort
Colin Bear (Northwestern State) gave the Thunder Bay Border Cats a much needed solid outing on the mound firing a complete game five hitter. The Border Cats snapped a seven game losing streak Sunday night in beating Brainerd 4-1 at Port Arthur Stadium. The lefthander allowed only one run in the seventh inning. Bear walked three and struck out seven as he evened his record at 1-1.
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).