Bamesberger pitches more than four innings of scoreless in relief to help Honker to second straight
(Rochester, Minn.)– In their first game with Eau Claire since May, the Honkers beat the Express, 4-3, at Carson Park on Tuesday night.
Honkers starter Blake Quinn pitched around his six walks to keep the Honkers within reach of the win Tuesday. It was the Honkers that struck first in the game, however, against an equally wild Express starter in Ian Doughty (Pepperdine). After a lead off single by L.J. Brewster (Hawaii), Anthony Sequeira reached first base and moved Brewster to second on an error by second baseman Drew Turbin (Dallas Baptist). Brewster broke the scoreless tie after a throwing error was committed by Doughty brought him home.
But, the Express quickly answered in the bottom of the fourth inning. Blake Quinn walked the bases loaded in between recording two outs in the inning and Mike Barajas (Lewis) singled to center field to score two runs and snag the lead for the Express.
The Express tacked on another in the bottom half of the fifth and the Honkers trailed by a couple runs into the sixth inning when Rochester grabbed the lead back from the Express for good. Reid Roper (Illinois) singled home a run to get the Honkers back within one. Doughty loaded the bases with two outs and forced the Express to make a pitching change. Justin Jaquish (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) inherited the bases loaded with two outs and Jordan Smith (Minnesota) at the plate. Smith singled up the middle on a 1-1 count, scoring two more runs for the Honkers and pulling them into a 4-3 lead.
Will Bamesberger (Creighton) relieved Quinn in the middle of the fifth inning and was nearly flawless throughout the rest of the game. Bamesberger ended up pitching 4.2 innings, halting the Express from even threatening to score. He only allowed one hit and one walk en route to his first win this season.
Tomorrow, the Express and the Honkers will meet again, this time at Mayo Field, for a 7:05 p.m. start. Matt Kent (Texas A&M) will be handed the ball to help the Honkers onto a three game win streak. Ticket information can be found 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.
