(La Crosse, Wis.) – The Rochester Honkers (8-10 Second Half, 24-29 Overall) dropped the finale of the doubleheader against the La Crosse Loggers (9-12, 23-32) by a score of 7-3 Wednesday night at Copeland Park. The Loggers took game one 7-0 at Mayo Field earlier in the day. Three Honkers collected multiple hits, including a season-high three singles by Morgan McCullough (Oregon). Rochester threatened in the top of the ninth inning with two runners on base, but could not complete the comeback.
Kennie Taylor (Duke) led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple off the outfield wall in right-center field. He scored in the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly to center field by Jake Hirabayashi (UCLA).
Taylor tripled again in the bottom of the second inning, which brought in two runs, part of a three-run inning for La Crosse.
Trailing 0-5 in the top of the fourth inning, the Honkers put two runs on the scoreboard. Mike Echavia (Nevada) tripled to right field with one out, which scored Ryan Fitzpatrick (UC Irvine) from second base. Echavia scored in the next at-bat after Chris Ceballos (Orange Coast) reached base on a dropped third strike.
Garrett Christman (Butler) returned the La Crosse lead to five runs with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Honkers answered with a run of their own in the top of the eighth inning on a fielder’s choice ground ball to the second baseman, scoring Morgan McCullough (Oregon).
Rochester tried to put together another rally in the ninth inning. Two batters reached base on a walk and a single, but two strikeouts ended the game.
Joe Wills (Cal State Fullerton) pitched well in his four innings of relief work for the Honkers. He struck out four batters, giving up two runs on one hit.
Mason McMahon (UW-La Crosse) earned the win (2-2) for the Loggers. He pitched six innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits while striking out nine batters and walking one.
Manny Armendariz (Doane) took the loss (3-1) for the Honkers. He pitched three innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits while walking two batters.
The Honkers will travel to Willmar tomorrow, July 27, to face the Stingers. This will be their second series at Willmar this week. First pitch from Bill Taunton Stadium is 7:05 p.m. Chia-Ching Ho (National Taiwan Sports University) is scheduled to pitch for the Honkers. Ho is 1-2 this season with a 4.26 ERA.
The next home game for the Flock is Sunday, July 30, against the La Crosse Loggers. It will be Dash for Cash Day, presented by Country Financial. One lucky registered fan will be selected to win up to $1,000 on the field. The contestant will have 30 seconds to pick up a pile of money, located 45 feet away, using a snow shovel. The amount of money the contestant can place in their container will be theirs to keep. It will also be Bob & Steve’s Corn Sunday on the Sports Deck and Slider’s Kids Club Day. Kids eat for free on the Sports Deck and can run the bases after the game. Gates open at noon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
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The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. 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 180 former 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 portal. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Honkers as your favorite team.
