BISMARCK, ND – The rain went away, but the Larks could not get a win on this day.

The Bismarck Larks were defeated 12-1 by the Rochester Honkers in the rain-suspended contest from last night.

The Larks (12-17) resumed this baseball game in the top of the second inning with a 1-0 lead thanks to Ryan Anderson’s RBI single last night off of Honkers (11-16) starter Drew Slade.

The game would stay that way until the top of the fifth inning due to solid pitching from both the Larks and the Honkers.

For the birds, it was yesterday’s starter Connor McNallan. McNallan got the “nod” for the second consecutive day because of his limited work last night where he threw just 17 pitches.

McNallan tossed a total of five innings giving up one run on three hits. He struck out four and walked a pair in his two-day debut as a member of the Larks rotation.

For the Honkers, it was Michael Stryffeler. Stryffeler established his dominant presence from the very start. The Sagamore Hills, OH native struck out six batters in his first three innings of work. The strikeouts were a foreshadowing of what was to come later in the pseudo-start for Stryffeler.

The Honkers finally broke out the offense with one run in the top of the fifth inning off McNallan. Morgan McCullough tallied his fourth hit and third RBI of the series with a two-out double to tie the game at 1-1.

McCullough’s run-scoring hit served as the kick-start to a twelve-run unanswered streak.

A focal point of the twelve unanswered runs from the Honkers came in the top of the sixth. The Honkers offense took advantage of six total combined walks from Jake Johnson and Jake Carlsen. Three runs touched home because of bases-loaded walks and two runs came across because of a pair of RBI groundouts.

After the five-run top of the sixth, the Honkers had a 6-1 lead. The five-run cushion was more than enough for Stryffeler as he continued to sit down the Larks via the strikeout.

Following the fourth inning, Stryffeler allowed just two hits and struck out five more. The Bismarck offense had no answer.

Stryffeler’s final line featured seven innings of shutout baseball with just three hits allowed on eleven strikeouts and one walk.

The Honkers added two more home runs to their Northwoods League record-setting season later in the game.

Ryan Fitzpatrick sent a solo shot over the left field wall in the top of the eighth, his tenth home run on the season and second of the series. Michael Michalak added another solo shot in the top of the ninth, his fifth home run of the season.

A combination of dominant pitching and a stout offense was too much to handle for the Larks.

The good news is that the Larks have an opportunity to respond in the same day. First pitch for the regularly scheduled game is set for 5:05pm as Frank Greco will be called upon to help right the ship.

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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.