(Rochester, Minn.)—The Honkers came into Wednesday’s game allowing the least amount of runs in the Northwoods League but that all changed after the MoonDogs scorched starting pitcher Spencer Greer (Western Nevada CC) and the bullpen for eight runs in the bottom half of the 4th inning.
Greer was strong out of the gate for the Honkers, keeping them off of the scoreboard until a Tyler O’Neill towering two-run homerun with no outs in the 4th inning opened the scoring. The runs were Greer’s first allowed of the season in his two starts. The MoonDogs wouldn’t stop there, though. Derek Umphres would eventually drive in two more runs on a double that would knock Greer out of the game. Unfortunately, reliever Ryan Diers (St. Cloud State) couldn’t stop the bleeding out of the bullpen, either. Diers would only record one out on a sacrifice fly and give up three more runs to add to Mankato’s lead, capping it at 8-0.
The Honkers still managed to collect seven hits on the evening, but just fell short of collecting the extra hits that would send their baserunners home.
If there were a bright spot for the Honkers on Tuesday night, it would be the fantastic relief work put in after Diers in the 4th inning. L.J. Brewster (Hawaii), normally a third baseman, made his debut on the mound today for the Honkers, striking out three batters and allowing just a single hit in his 2.1 innings of relief. John Conquy (Dixie State) was just as impressive. He did not allow a hit in his 2 innings of work and also struck out three MoonDogs.
It’ll be up to Ryan Fritze (Des Moines Area CC) tomorrow to offer some payback to the MoonDogs as Mankato will travel to Rochester to finish their two-game series with the Honkers. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. For ticket information, visit rochesterhonkers.com.
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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.
