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Published On: July 20th, 2014

 

A big game offensively gets the Honkers to their eighth win of the season

(Rochester, Minn.)– The Honkers defeated the Border Cats, 15-12, in extra innings Saturday night. After being down seven runs, the Honkers rallied back and finally won the game in Thunder Bay.

To begin the game, the Border Cats struck first on Saturday after Robb Paller (Columbia) smacked a solo home run in the bottom of the first off Honkers starter Ryan Bower (Allan Hancock College) to grab the 1-0 lead.

The Honkers quickly tied it at one in the second after catcher Travis Hull (Chabot College) singled in a run.

But the Border Cats blew the game wide open with a huge bottom half of the second. With Bower on the mound, the Border Cats scored seven runs with two outs, capped by a two-run double from Christian Correa (Nicholls State). After the double, the Honkers decided to pull Bower from the game and Brandon Stennis (Doane College) came on to record the inning’s final out, but the Honkers trailed Thunder Bay by seven runs entering the third.

After adding a run in the third, the Honkers rallied back from seven runs down to tie the game at eight in the fourth inning. The Honkers scored five runs with two outs, themselves, to tie up the ballgame. The fourth inning yielded six runs on seven hits off Border Cats starter Charles Thielmann (Kean).

With Michael Daley (Kean) working in relief after the Honkers came back to tie the game in the inning, Daley delivered a pitch that scored Reid Roper (Illinois) from third base on a passed ball. The Honkers took the lead with that run, 9-8.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Border Cats loaded the bases off Stennis with two outs, the Border Cats tied the game from a Jordan Serena (Columbia) single, tying the game at nine. Cory Kay (Missouri State) batted next and pushed the Border Cats into the lead 11-9, after a single scored two more runs.

The Border Cats added a 12th run in the sixth, but the Honkers countered with two runs of their own in the seventh. Back-to-back run-scoring base hits from Jordan Smith (Minnesota) and Ryan Boldt (Nebraska), getting the Honkers back within one run of the lead, 12-11.

The Honkers’ right fielder Casey Fletcher (Illinois) drove in the game-tying run in the seventh on an RBI single, getting the game tied at 12.

Honkers reliever Jeff Campbell (North Dakota) maintained the tie and the ballgame was sent into extra innings.

The Honkers were the first break through in the 13th inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jordan Smith singled to drive in two runs and Rochester took a 14-12 lead. Boldt singled after Smith to score the 15th run of the game for the Honkers and Rochester would take a three-run lead to the bottom half of the inning.

Carl Jameson (Missouri Baptist) pitched a scoreless, hitless final three innings propelling the Honkers to the win, 15-12.

After tomorrow’s game against the Border Cats, the Honkers aren’t home until July 24 against the Battle Creek Bombers 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, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com.