One night after another, the Minot Hot Tots prove something new about themselves. On Wednesday night, the Tots showcased an ability to fight through early adversity and rally to beat the Rochester Honkers, 11-10.
The game got off to a rocky start for Minot. Starting pitcher Oliver Brown had troubles with his command, and the opposing Honkers took full advantage. With the help of four walks, three hits and three hit batters, Rochester plated eight runs during Brown’s 1.1 inning appearance. The Honkers had a sufficient early-game advantage of 9-1 as the Hot Tots came up to hit for just the second time.
Nick Kaelin and Alexander Sifford each wore bases-loaded hit by pitches to bring the Hot Tots within six runs after the second inning. The contest was obviously far from over, but Rochester had an early opportunity to put it out of reach.
A solo home run by Seth Thompson in the fourth inning made the score 10-3 Rochester. In response, the Hot Tots got plenty of baserunners, but no runs. By night’s end, the Tots had left 14 runners on base. No stretch of missed chances was bigger than the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Minot left two runners on base in the fifth inning, left the bags loaded in the sixth and stranded another two in the seventh inning. Time was running out on the Tots who still trailed by seven runs.
With Rochester similarly unable to tack on runs, the Hot Tots were looking at the same seven-run deficit all night. In the eighth inning, things began to change. Nick Kaelin led off with a single and Ryan Brucker followed with a walk. The line had started moving and five consecutive hits kept it going. Once Rochester had recorded the inning’s first out their lead was down to two runs. The fifth and final run of the inning scored on a bases-loaded walk.
Minot had made it a game again, but still needed one more to get the job done. With two quick outs to start the ninth, hope of a complete comeback was slipping away. Down to the final strike, Micah McCoy saved the day with an opposite-field base hit. The next batter, Kole Dudding, already had a great day going in his Hot Tot debut. He had two hits before stepping up to the plate as the winning run. On the 2-1 pitch, Dudding cleared the left-center field fence for a walk-off two-run home run.
Celebration immediately ensued for the Sky Dancer Casino Big Win. Dudding’s walk-off blast was deserving of both the SportClips MVP and First Command Play of the Game. The Tots split the series with Rochester with the 11-10 victory in the finale.
Minot’s homestand continues Thursday through Sunday with a four-game series against the St. Cloud Rox. Come out to Corbett Field on June 4th for a packed Teacher Appreciation Night.
