Rochester Honkers’ slugger Joe DeRoche-Duffin won the individual crown in the 2015 Marshfield Home Run Contest with eight home runs, helping the North division beat the South 22-21 in the team contest.
Each division was represented with nine batters. Each player had one “inning” with six outs to hit, with North and South players alternating, with the South hitting second as the home team.
With the most home runs in the North coming in, Duffin was the leadoff man for the whole competition. His eight homers seemed to set the tone, and it felt like the sluggers that followed would keep the totals high. That was not the case, as only Anthony Gonsolin (Saint Mary’s) of the Madison Mallards mounting a true threat with his six home runs, which garnered him second place.
Though Duffin didn’t have to sweat too much about his individual title, the team crown came down the final batter. With the North up 22-18, Mitch McGeein (Eastern Michigan) from the hosting Wisconsin Rapids Rafters came to the plate. McGeein would pick up three home runs to bring the South within one, but with five outs would lift his final ball to the warning track, ending the contest and giving the North the win.
The Home Run Contest will be followed by the 2015 NWL All-Star Game at 7:05 p.m. Pitcher Jayson Yano (Stevens Institute) will be the Honkers’ lone representative 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
