(Rochester, Minn.)– The Rochester Honkers defeated the Eau Claire Express tonight (Wednesday, June 17th) 8-3. Jayson Yano (Stevens Institute) got his third win of the season and moved to 3-1 in four starts. ALex McIntosh (UW-Milwaukee was charged with the loss for Eau Claire. The win moves Rochester to 13-8 on the season and keeps them in the hunt for the NWL North Division First half crown.
Zach Hoffman (St. Cloud State) was the Honkers greatest threat at the plate, going 2-3 with two runs scored, three RBIs and one home run.
Eau Claire struck first with two runs in the first inning, and carried that lead until the Honkers first run came in bottom of the third, as Ryan Summers (Louisville) got his first RBI as a Honker, bringing in Hoffman.
Alex Schultz (Nebraska-Omaha) hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning, bringing in Miles Mastrobuoni (College of San Mateo) and tying the score at 2. The Honkers took the lead on a three-run home run by Hoffman that scored Schultz and Matt Fiedler (Minnesota) in that same inning. It was Hoffman's first homerun of the season. William Paschal (Georgia Gwinnett) also hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot that put the Honkers 7-2.
Ryan Webberley (Cal Poly Pomona) tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, bringing in Cole Krzmarzick (Nevada), who stole his way from first to third on an error on a pickoff attempt by the Express.
Tomorrow, Rochester and Eau Claire will meet again tomorrow, Thursday June 18th, in Eau Claire. The Honkers next home game will be Friday, June 19th, against WIllmar at 7:05 p.m. It will be EO Johnson Technologies Tablet Giveaway night, and fans will have a chance to win 2 Samsung Tablets.
All the Honkers action can be found on Sports Radio AM 1520 The Ticket with Clinton Cole, and at www.rochesterhonkers.com. Live video of all the Honkers' games can be found by clicking the Watch Games Live link at www.northwoodsleague.com
The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, 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 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com
