(Rochester, Minn.) – The Rochester Honkers (13-17 Second Half, 29-36 Overall) lost game two of a doubleheader to the Thunder Bay Border Cats (13-18, 26-40) by a score of 4-0 Monday night at Mayo Field. The Honkers split the doubleheader with the Border Cats after winning the opener, 4-2. Jordan Hart (Minnesota State-Mankato) and Konnor Zickefoose (UC Irvine) each collected a team-high two hits.
Brendan Dougherty (Bradley) put the Border Cats on the scoreboard with a one-out solo home run to right field in the top of the first inning.
At least two Honker batters reached base in each of the first four innings, with their biggest threat coming in the bottom of the fourth inning. Two walks and a single to center field by Hart loaded the bases for the Honkers with one out in the inning, but the Flock was unable to bring in a run.
Leading 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning, Thunder Bay added two more runs on back-to-back RBI singles by Noah Strohl (Grossmont) and Jean-Francois Garon (Bradley).
Zickefoose singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Honkers could not put together a late comeback.
Jacob Green (Lake Erie) and Garrett Cobb (Seminole State) combined to hold the Border Cats scoreless in the final two innings, striking out two batters as a unit.
Blaze Bohall (UNLV) earned the win (5-2) for the Border Cats. He pitched five scoreless innings, giving up four hits while striking out seven batters and walking four.
Ryan Dorney (St. Martin’s) took the loss (3-3) for the Honkers. He pitched three innings, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out three batters and walking one.
The Honkers team will have the day off tomorrow, August 8, but four players will participate in the Major League Dreams Showcase in Madison, Wis. Zach Zubia (Texas), Ryan Thompson (Illinois), Kenyon Yovan (Oregon), and David Noworyta (Hawaii) will work out in front of MLB scouts and play in an exhibition game at 4:05 p.m. at Warner Park.
The next home game for the Honkers will be a doubleheader against the Thunder Bay Border Cats on Wednesday, August 9. It will be Team Trading Card Set Night, presented by Pepsi and 106.9 KROC. The first 1,000 fans at the game will receive a free set of Honkers team trading cards. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. First pitch of game one starts at 6:05 p.m. Game two will begin 30 minutes after the completion of game one. Both matchups will be seven-inning games. Chia-Ching Ho (National Taiwan Sports University) is scheduled to pitch game one for the Honkers. Ho is 2-2 this season with a 4.39 ERA in 41 innings. Mason Swegarden (Mayville State) is scheduled to pitch for the Border Cats. Swegarden is 1-0 this season with a 2.25 ERA in four innings.
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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.
