Three different Larks homer to give the team three-straight wins
ROCHESTER, MN – Back in action after the three-day All-Star break, bodies are healthy and guys are itching to get back on the field.
Feeling rejuvenated, the Larks took the field in Rochester to take on the Honkers and came away with a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
The Larks showed they were ready to get back in the swing of things as the power was on display in the first. Connor Perry led off the game with a solo home run to right. Later in the inning, Ryan Anderson hit a solo home run of his own, this one to deep left field. The pair of long balls gave the Larks an early cushion.
They needed it.
In the bottom half, Zach Zubia added to his Northwoods League lead with his 17th home run of the season. The solo shot to left cut the Larks lead in half.
After the exciting start, the pitchers retook command and changed the trajectory of the game. Instead of a slugfest, we were in for a pitcher’s duel.
Honkers starter Chai-Ching Ho retired 14 hitters in a row after the Anderson homer in the first and cruised through most of the first half of the game.
In eached the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, Larks starter Nick Boyles allowed the leadoff man to reach base, but he left them stranded every time. The experience Boyles has as a reliever potentially played a role in Boyles’ ability to get out of the jams.
Perry drew a one-out walk in the top of the 6th to be the first Lark to reach base against Ho since the first inning. After a Wyatt Ulrich walk, the Larks executed a double-steal to get Perry to third. Newt Johnson brought Perry home with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 3-1.
Boyles did not return for the 6th inning. The usual reliever gave his teammates everything they could have asked for as he ate up five innings and allowed just one earned run, struck out three, and walked just two.
JC Bonilla took over for Boyles in the bottom of the 6th inning. Again, the Honkers put the lead off man on base thanks to a Morgan McCullough double. McCullough advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a sacriflice fly from Konnor Zickefoose as the Honkers responded and cut the lead down to 3-2.
Luke Waldek showed off some power in the top of the 7th with a solo home run of his own to push the Larks lead to 4-2. Quinn Irey followed that with a double to chase Ho from the game.
Ho finished with 6.2 innings of work and four earned runs allowed on four hits, three of which left the ballpark. He also walked two and struck out three.
In the bottom of the 7th, Griffin Neuer scored on a 3U putout off the bat of Ethan Ibarra to get the Honkers to within one yet again.
With runners on the corners, Bonilla got Zubia to fly out to center field to end the threat and keep the Larks ahead by one.
Neither offense got much going in the final two innings as the Larks held on to the 4-3 win. Jamie Kaye threw the final two frames for the Larks and didn’t allow the Honkers to threaten at any point. Kaye allowed just one hit and did not walk a batter.
Boyles’ efforts earned him the win in just his second start of the season, improving his record to 2-2. Ho was saddled with a tough loss, dropping him to 1-2. Kaye earned his second save of the season, the first coming on June 28 at Willmar in his Larks debut.
It’s not often that both pitching and hitting can be the story in a ballgame, but the Larks displayed some power on their way to winning what could be classified as a pitchers duel, seeing that just 10 hits were recorded in total (although four of them did leave the yard).
As is often the case, the Larks were loose and relaxed as they prepared for the game, but they also seemed to have a sense of urgency. The season is on the backburner, and the three-day break appeared to give the Larks a boost. They’ll need to keep that rolling if they want to make a push for a playoff spot.
The two teams will meet tomorrow for game two of the series, again with a 7:05 pm start time. The Larks will be looking for their fourth straight win with a chance to earn their first sweep of the second half.
# # #
The Bismarck Larks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, 180 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.bismarcklarks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Larks as your favorite team.
