(Rochester, Minn.)– The Honkers allowed the leadoff man to reach base in 8 out of 9 innings, mostly via the walk, and it was enough to help the MoonDogs to an 8-3 win in Rochester on Monday night. In total, Honkers pitching allowed 8 walks and hit four batters to assist the MoonDogs in a two-game sweep of Rochester in the final meeting between the two teams in the first half of the season.
In the ballgame, the Honkers would actually outhit the MoonDogs 9-7, but the discrepancy in baserunners drove Mankato to the win Monday evening and pushed the Honkers to a third straight loss. Each of the Honkers’ arms used in the game contributed to the walk and hit batters totals and committed three errors in the field. Starting pitcher Brandon Stennis (Doane College) allowed 5 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks and hit two batters in a losing effort at Mayo Field as he moves to 1-1 on the season.
While the Honkers pitching staff was wild throughout, Honkers bats continued to struggle with runners on base. Their 4 through 7 hitters went 1-16 in the ballgame. The sparse offense was highlighted by a phenomenal L.J. Brewster (Hawaii) night where he hit his first homerun and went 3-4 at the plate. Ryan Boldt continued a hot start to his Honkers’ career, collecting two more hits including a run-scoring triple in the 8th inning.
The MoonDogs offense was patient and it paid off, but their 1-6 hitters each collected a single hit in the game, too. Starting pitcher Taylor Elman (Creighton) was also very effective in his 7 innings of work allowing just one hit on the Brewster homerun. On the other end of the scoreboard, the MoonDogs pitching staff did not allow either a walk or hit a batter in the entire game which kept the Honkers offense stalled all night as both teams end the day with an 8-6 record.
The Honkers will make the trip to Battle Creek, Mich., early Tuesday morning to play the Bombers for 6:05 p.m. first pitch. In his third season as a Honker, Matt Kent (Texas A&M) is slated to make his first start this season tomorrow. The next time the Honkers are home will be Saturday against Alexandria at 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.
