(St. Cloud, Minn.) – The Rochester Honkers (14-13) moved above a .500 record for the second time this season after a 4-3 win over the St. Cloud Rox (18-10) Monday night at Joe Faber Field. The Honkers earned the series sweep against the Rox, their second of the season. The Rox had many opportunities to overcome a three-run deficit against the Rochester starting pitcher Drew Slade (Ripon). St. Cloud left 10 runners on base, including stranding the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
St. Cloud threatened to score in the second inning on a single to left field by Brendan Illies (North Carolina) with two runners on base and two outs. Angelo Altavilla (Nebraska) tried to score from second base, but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The Honkers broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning. Three straight batters singled off the St. Cloud starting pitcher Ryan Shreve (Pacific) with one out, ending with a RBI single by Chris Ceballos (Orange Coast) that scored Ryan Fitzpatrick (UC Irvine) from second base.
St. Cloud responded in the bottom of the fourth inning with a run to tie the game at 1-1. Altavilla scored Matthew Tarantino (Pacific) on a one-out sacrifice fly to left field. A groundout ended the threat, stranding a runner at second base.
Kyle Boser (St. Cloud State) relieved Shreve after a leadoff single to start the fifth inning. After giving up a single to Konnor Zickefoose (UC Irvine), Boser hit two straight batters with pitches, scoring Morgan McCullough (Oregon). Zickefoose scored in the next at-bat on a fielder’s choice.
Hart entered the sixth inning with no hits in his last 12 at-bats. He broke the hitless streak with a solo home to lead off the inning, extending the Honker lead to 4-1.
Slade held the Rox to one run on five hits through six innings. He returned to pitch the seventh inning, but ran into trouble in what would be his final inning. The Rox loaded the bases to start the inning. Cameron Eden (California) singled, scoring two runs and bringing the Rox within a run.
Garrett Cobb (Seminole State) closed out the game to secure the win for the Honkers. He pitched the final two innings for his sixth save of the season. He held St. Cloud scoreless while only giving up a hit and a walk. Cobb has not surrendered a run in his last six appearances.
Slade earned the win (3-0) for the Honkers. He gave up three runs on eight hits in seven innings, while striking out four batters and walking five.
Shreve took the loss (2-1) for the Rox. He gave up two runs in 4.1 innings pitched, striking out six batters.
The Honkers’ next home game is Tuesday, June 27 against the Thunder Bay Border Cats. It will be Team Poster Night, presented by Johnson Printing and & 103.9 The Doc. The first 500 fans will receive a free team poster. Gates will open at 6:00 p.m., with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. Michael Stryffeler (Lake Erie) is scheduled to pitch for the Honkers.
###
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 160 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
