(Rochester, Minn.)- The Rochester Honkers fell to the Waterloo Bucks 8-6 in Waterloo Saturday night. Matt Walker (UCLA) was given the loss after going 1.1 innings and giving up seven runs in his third start of the season. Bryan Polowy (North Central) earned the win for Waterloo while Matthew James (Illinois) was credited with the save.
Waterloo took an early advantage as they plated seven scores against Walker in the first two innings. Miles Mastrobuoni (College of San Mateo) scored on a single from Mark Contreras (UC Riverside) in the third for the Honkers first run, cutting it down to a 7-1 deficit.
The Bucks would get one more run across in the fourth for an 8-1 lead, but that would be their last score of the night, leaving the door open for a Honker Rally.
The comeback would start in the sixth inning, when Scott Schreiber (Nebraska) would drive in Contreras. Dempsey Grover (UC Santa Barbara) scored on the same play on Waterloo’s first baseman to make it 8-3.
In the seventh, Mastrobuoni drove in Alex Schultz (Nebraska-Omaha) with a single, then came in on another single from Contreras to bring the Honkers within three.
Entering the ninth inning trailing 8-5, the Honkers were in need of some heroics, and nearly got it. Mastrobuoni scored a third time, this one on a double from Matt Fiedler (Minnesota) to make it 8-6. The Honkers would then get runners on first and second with one out, and Joe DeRoche-Duffin (UCONN) would come in to pinch hit. The 2015 NWL Home Run Champ went down swinging though, and Sam Hall (Dixie State) would follow suit to end the game.
The Bucks now lead the 2015 Scheels Highway 63 Cup standings 2-1 with five games remaining on the schedule between Rochester and Waterloo.
The Honkers are now 10-13 in the second half, 6.5 games back of the division leading St. Cloud Rox. For the season, the Honkers are 30-27 and sit in fourth place in the North division, one game ahead of Waterloo.
The Honkers next home game will be Sunday, July 26th, at 1:05 p.m. against the Waterloo Bucks. It will be Bolder Options Day, presented by Perkins, Olmstead National Bank, Manpower & ABC 6 News. There will be a Silent Auction of game worn jerseys to benefit Bolder Options. It will also be the fourth annual MN Renaissance Festival Day, and a Perkins Kids Club Day.
All of the Honkers games can be found live on Sports Radio AM 1520 The Ticket with Clinton Cole. You can also listen for free at www.rochesterhonkers.com by clicking on the Listen to Games Live link. Live video streams of the games are available via the Northwoods league Live Stream, powered by Stretch Internet. To access, just visit www.northwoodsleague.com and click on the Watch Games Live link at the bottom of the page.
The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com
