(Bismarck, N.D.) – The Rochester Honkers (12-16 Second Half, 28-35 Overall) swept a doubleheader against the Bismarck Larks (12-18, 28-37) after a 7-3 game two win in seven innings on Sunday night at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark. Konnor Zickefoose (UC Irvine) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (UC Irvine) brought in five of the seven runs for Rochester and three different Honkers scored multiple runs. Rochester pitching held Bismarck scoreless on only one hit after the first inning. The Honkers won three out of four games against the Larks in the road series and took the season series against Bismarck 5-3.
Zickefoose brought in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly to left field in the top of the first inning, which scored Morgan McCullough (Oregon). McCullough extended his on-base streak to a team-high 35 games.
Luke Horanski (Virginia Tech) gave the Larks their first and only lead of the doubleheader in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out three-run home run to right-center field.
The first five Honkers reached base to start the top of the third inning. Rochester scored four runs on three hits in the inning, including a two-RBI single to center field by Zickefoose.
McCullough and Fitzpatrick singled back-to-back in the fourth inning, each driving in a run and extending the Honkers lead to 7-3.
Honkers starting pitcher Drew Slade (Ripon) pitched well after the first inning, throwing four scoreless frames and retiring nine consecutive batters at one point.
Jacob Green (Lake Erie) and Garrett Cobb (Seminole State) combined to pitch the final two innings for the Honkers, keeping the Larks off the scoreboard and without a hit while striking out three batters.
Slade earned the win (5-2) for the Honkers. He pitched five innings, giving up three runs on three hits while walking two batters.
Frank Greco (Benedictine) took the loss (2-5) for the Larks. He pitched three innings, giving up five runs on five hits while striking out one batter and walking two.
The Honkers will return home tomorrow, August 7, for a doubleheader against the Thunder Bay Border Cats. It will be One Hit Wonder Night with Minnesota 97.5 FM. If the Honkers hold Thunder Bay to one hit in game one, then someone will win $10,000. Anyone 18 years or older may sign to win for free at the Fan Center. First pitch of game one starts at 6:05 p.m. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. Game two will begin 30 minutes after the completion of game one. Both matchups will be seven-inning games. Manny Armendariz (Doane) is scheduled to pitch for the Honkers. Armendariz is 3-2 this season with a 3.79 ERA. Blaze Bohall (UNLV) is scheduled to pitch for the Border Cats. Bohall is 4-2 this season with a 3.81 ERA.
###
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.
