(Rochester, Minn.)— The Rochester Honkers fell to the Willmar Stingers 8-4 on Thursday night at Mayo Field. Marcus Ethen (Nebraska-Omaha) was charged with the loss for Rochester after giving up four runs in just 0.2 innings of work in his first appearance as a Honker. Reliever Colton Boucher (Northern State) got the win for Willmar.
Rochester starter Josh Pigg went five innings and gave up just one unearned run in his first action since June 6th to earn the no decision.
Joe DeRoche-Duffin (UCONN) saw his 12-game hit streak come to an end as he went 0-4 with three strikeouts.
The first three innings were played with out a score, as both Pigg and Willmar starter Brian Kehner (Minnesota) benefitted from timely double plays turned by their infields.
Rochester took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, breaking up the tie on an RBI single from Sam Hall (Dixie State) that brought Cole Krzmarzick (Nevada) and Ryan Webberley (Cal Poly Pomona).
Willmar got one back as they plated an unearned run in the fifth, but the Honkers would respond in the bottom of the inning with a run batted in off the bat of Alex Schultz (Nebraska Omaha).
The Stingers would hit a two-run home run off Spencer Greer (Dixie State) in the sixth to take the lead 4-3, and the Honkers would struggle to respond after that, as Willmar would score four times in the seventh and once in the eighth to take an 8-3 lead.
Rochester would look to make a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, as Adam Walton (Illinois) would score on an RBI single form Miles Mastrobuoni (College on San Mateo), but that’s all the closer the Honkers would get as they fell 8-4.
The Stingers further secured their position atop the North division overall standings, while the Honkers stayed back in third overall. They also fell back in the second half, sitting in fifth in the division with a 9-7 record.
The Honkers and Stingers will square off again tomorrow in Rochester at 7:05 p.m. Gates will open at 6 p.m. It will be Fly RST night, with a chance for fans to win a $400 Travel Voucher for Rochester International Airport, courtesy of RST and Townsquare Media.
All of the Honkers games can be found live on Sports Radio AM 1520 The Ticket with Clinton Cole. You can also listen for free at www.rochesterhonkers.com by clicking on the Listen to Games Live link. Live video streams of the games are available via the Northwoods league Live Stream, powered by Stretch Internet. To access, just visit www.northwoodsleague.com and click on the Watch Games Live link at the bottom of the page.
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
