Honkers sign Kansas Jayhawk, Dorney returns home.
(Rochester, Minn.) – The Rochester Honkers have announced the signings of Ryan Dorney and Benjamin Sems.
Dorney is a 6-foot-2, 215-pound right-handed junior pitcher from St. Martin’s University. Dorney spent the 2015 and 2017 seasons with the Honkers. Between those two years, Dorney made 23 appearances, threw 37 innings and struck out 31. He has a 3-4 record with the Honkers.
This spring, Dorney has pitched 11 1/3 innings and struck out 13. His best outing was against Hawaii Pacific when he threw five shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Coming in to this season, Dorney owned a 4.26 ERA and had 57 strikeouts. During Dorney’s sophomore season, he threw 50 2/3 innings and tossed two complete games. Dorney grew up in Rochester, but moved to Bothell, Wash. prior to attending high school.
Sems is a 6-foot-2, 179-pound sophomore shortstop from the University of Kansas. This spring Sems has started 11 games and is hitting .297. He has seven RBIs and has scored two runs. During his freshman campaign he played in 25 games and hit .220 and drove in eight runs. He hit his first collegiate home run against Texas Southern on May 5, 2017.
At Westminster Christian High school, Sems earned three letters and won a state title in 2014. His senior year he hit .413 and served as the teams closer. Sems is a native of Chesterfield, Mo.
The Rochester Honkers 25th season begins on Tuesday, May 29th when the team hosts the Eau Claire Express in their home opener at Mayo Field at 7:05 pm. 5-Game Packs and Kids Club Memberships are available now! Season Tickets, ½ Season Plans, Suites and Patios are also available. Call the Rochester Honkers office at 507-289-1170 for more information.
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The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 185 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.
