Eighteen Stingers hits and 15 runs keeps the Honkers from splitting the season series against the Stingers

(Rochester, Minn.)– A flurry of Stingers runs in the beginning of the game was too much for the Honkers to overcome despite a late surge of offense and the Rochester drop their third-straight game, 15-8, to the Willmar Stingers.

The Stingers struck early off Honkers starter Ryan Bower (Allan Hancock College), delivering a solo home run from Reagan Fowler (Creighton) in the first, his second of the summer. In the second, the Stingers blew the game open.

After loading the bases with nobody out, Bower walked in the Stingers’ second run. Brain Pruett (Florida Gulf Coast) singled in another run, Fowler struck again and singled in two more, and first baseman Nick Rivera (Florida Gulf Coast) piled two more on top of that to give Willmar a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second.

In the third, Levi Lochner (Rochester Community and Technical College) allowed a bases-loaded double from Sean Beesley (Illinois State) to give the Stingers a huge 11-run advantage. They’d add four more runs in the inning to give them a 15-0 lead.

The Honkers finally cut into the lead in the top of the fourth when Blaise Lezynski (Notre Dame) singled in a run with the bases loaded and Parker Guinn (Washington) walked, to get the Honkers’ their first two runs.

A wild pitch scored their third and Guinn singled in another run – his second of the night – to give the Honkers their fourth run of the night in the top of the sixth.

Rochester kept on scoring, too, and Jeff Campbell (North Dakota) gave the Honkers three more runs in the seventh with a long home run over the left field fence, his fifth of the season, getting the Honkers a seventh unanswered run. Their eighth unanswered came in the top of the ninth came from an RBI double from Jordan Smith (Minnesota), but the deficit was way too much for the Honkers to complete a comeback.

The Honkers return to Mayo Field tomorrow, Saturday, to play two seven-inning games with the Thunder Bay Border Cats. Tomorrow night is also a Fireworks Extravaganza at Mayo Field. The two teams will play their first game at 5:05 p.m. with their second beginning 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first. 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.