Alexandria 4 – Rochester 3 (10 Inn.)

The Honkers came through with a clutch run to tie it in the bottom of the eighth, but eventually fell in the tenth inning to Alexandria in the Northwoods League’s only game today. Rochester was in a position to come away with the win, and put the winning run on base in front of the team’s best hitter, Rance Roundy (UNLV), but the Honkers just couldn’t pull it out. With the loss the Honkers are now 3-1 in the second half, and the loss was just the fifth of the season at home for Rochester. Alexandria improved to 2-1 in the second half with the win. The two starters, Bret Mitchell (Minnesota State Mankato) and Matt Fyffe (Eastern Kentucky University), pitched very effectively early, but the Beetles eventually came through with an unearned run to take the lead in the third at 1-0. Mitchell would buckle down and put up zeroes in both the fourth and fifth, and the Honkers would push across a run to tie it in the bottom of the fifth. P.J. Sequeira (Oral Roberts) came up with the big hit, a two out single through the left side to score Scott Berke (UNLV) and tie the game at 1-1. But Alexandria would bounce right back, and retook the lead in next inning on a massive home run by Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky University) that cleared the scoreboard in right-center and made the score 2-1 Beetles. That inning was the last that Mitchell would see before giving way to Jay Johnson (Prairie Baseball Academy), but the Honkers had another run up their sleeves. In the bottom of the eighth, after Corey Jones (Cal State Fullerton) reached on an error and Sequeira drew a walk before a sacrifice bunt moved the runners over, Drew Beuerlein (UNLV) hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 2-2. It would stay there as the game headed to extras, but the Beetles rallied again in the tenth. Facing Nick Ramirez (Cal State Fullerton), Keith Castillo (USC) delivered a RBI double to the gap and came around to score himself after stealing third when the throw attempt to catch him running trickled out into right field. The game seemed lost at that point for the Honkers, the mood in Mayo Field quickly transubstantiated when the Honkers came through with a RBI single by Danny Brock (St. Louis) to make the score 4-3 with two outs. The Beetles then turned to their bullpen in Kevin Vangheluwe (Michigan), and he got Roundy to strike out to end the game. Vangheluwe earned his first save, and Austen Siwiec picked up his fifth win by tossing 3.2 innings of relief allowing two runs (one earned). The loss was charged to Ramirez, who allowed two runs (one earned) in two innings of relief work. Sequeira led the Honkers offense with a 2-for-4 day including a run and RBI, while Castillo and Langfels both went 2-for-5 with a run and RBI each for Alexandria.