Centerfielder Alex Schultz jumpstarts the Honkers again with his bat
(Rochester, Minn.)– For the second night in a row, Alex Schultz (Nebraska Omaha) played catalyst for the Honkers. Even though the lineup was full of fresh faces, the old ones still managed to generate the majority of the team’s runs. The Honkers earned their third consecutive win after beating the Eau Claire Express 7-1.
Newcomer Casey Fletcher (Illinois) led the bottom of the 2nd inning off with a walk in his first at-bat as a Honker. A 10-pitch at-bat by Jeff Campbell (North Dakota) ended with a double into the left field corner to score the game’s first run. The bases would eventually become loaded for leadoff man Schultz and he’d deliver with a first-pitch double in between the Express’ left and right fielders that would travel all the way to the fence clearing the bases, scoring the Honkers third, fourth and fifth runs. The big inning would chase Express starting pitcher, Andy Davis (St. Scholastica), out of the ballgame.
As if starting pitcher Spencer Greer needed the help. Greer followed up the huge 2nd inning for the Honkers with a 1-2-3 inning. Greer retired nine batters in a row between the 1st and 4th innings. Eventually pitching with a 7-0 lead, Honkers field manager, Matt Bowman, felt comfortable giving Greer a rest after he finished up his sixth inning of work. Greer would finish the game allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk and striking out 4 batters.
Ryan Fritze (Des Moines CC) earned a save after coming in relief for Greer and pitching three innings. He allowed Eau Claire’s only run, a homerun by Tyler Hermann (Milwaukee) in the 7th inning.
Tomorrow, the Honkers embark on a five-game road jaunt that will take them to Duluth, Thunder Bay and Mankato. They’ll return home on Thursday to play the Mankato MoonDogs to conclude a two-game series with Mankato.
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The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, 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 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visitwww.rochesterhonkers.com.
