(Rochester, Minn.)— The Rochester Honkers fell to the Willmar Stingers 7-1 Friday night at Mayo Field. It was the fourth time the Stingers topped the Honkers in Rochester this season, completing the season sweep
. Rochester finished the regular season 2-6 against the first half champs.
Matt Fielder (Minnesota) was charged with the loss after giving up six runs, five of them earned, in four innings. Tyler Hanson (Minnesota) picked up his fourth win of the season for the Stingers.
Rochester would finish the night with one run, five hits and two errors, while Willmar would close out the night with a line of seven runs, 11 hits, and no errors.
Both Golden Gopher pitchers started hot, allowing no runs through the first two innings.
Willmar struck first on a deep fly ball to center after Fiedler walked the bases full in the top of the third, but Ryan Summers (Louisville) crushed a ball over the right-field fence that bounced off a house near Mayo Field for his second home run of the season and a 1-1 ball game.
The Stingers would reclaim the lead with a run in the fourth, but would truly break the game open with five runs in fifth inning, two of which were unearned, for a 7-1 lead.
That lead would stand, as Hanson would pitch strongly through the seventh inning and stymie any hopes of a Rochester comeback.
The Honkers will travel to Alexandria for three games on Saturday and Sunday as the teams make up a postponed game from June in Rochester. That series will lead right into the All Star Break. The 2015 NWL All Star Game will be in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. on July 21st. Jayson Yano (Stevens Institute) will be the Honkers lone representative on the North Division squad. The Marshfield Home Run Contest will precede the All-Star game, with Joe DeRoche-Duffin (UCONN) getting the nod in to represent Rochester in that one. The Honkers will be back in Rochester on Thursday, July 23rd, to face the Eau Claire Express at 12:05 p.m. It will be Kids "3 Buck" Day presented by Perkins. Kids 12 and under will gain admission for just $3! It will also be a Novo Nordisk Home Run for Life Thursday.
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
