Even with more offense, the Honkers can’t sweep the Growlers in Kalamazoo

(Rochester, Minn.)—The night the Rochester Honkers break out at the plate, their pitching is unable to keep them within reach of a win. The Honkers split their series in Kalamazoo with a loss Friday night, 9-5, to the Growlers.

At the end of their four-game series in Michigan against the Bombers and Growlers, the Honkers head back to Mayo Field 1-3 on the road trip. Friday, the Honkers collected 13 hits off of Growlers pitching, more than their previous three games on the trip combined. Their five runs were the most earned a single game, too, this trip.

The Honkers scored the first run in the game after Travis Hull collected his second RBI of the season on a bases-loaded groundout the shortstop in the second inning.

But, in the bottom of the half the second, Honkers starting pitcher Blake Quinn (Fresno State) was hit hard by the Growlers. Quinn couldn’t make it out of the second inning after allowing five runs on six hits and a slew of singles and doubles by the Growlers. Will Bamesberger (Creighton) relieved Quinn and put an end to the rally in the second but couldn’t keep the Growlers off the scoreboard later in his appearance, either.

After the Growlers scored their sixth run in the bottom of the fourth inning, Honkers Jeff Campbell (North Dakota) and Jordan Smith (Minnesota) each doubled and the team pulled back within a single run of tying the game in the top of the fifth. But in the bottom half of the inning, Bamesberger allowed a Growlers two-run home run by Austin Cangelosi (Boston College) and the Growlers regained a three-run lead, 8-5.

The Growlers would tack on one more run in the sixth inning and the scoreboard wouldn’t change from there as the Honkers lost the third of their four games in Michigan.

Despite losing the game, several Honkers showed re-energized bats near the bottom of the lineup. Jeff Campbell finished the game 4-4 with two RBIs and Jordan Smith ended a season-long slump in the game, going 3-3 with two RBIs, too.

Tomorrow, the Honkers will begin a six-game homestand, starting with the floundering Alexandria Blue Anchors. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. at Mayo Field. The starting pitcher for the Honkers will be Nick Gruener (Harvard), one of the team’s best arms so far this season. Ticket information is available at 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.