(Rochester, Minn.) – In a game that featured four ties and four lead changes, the Waterloo Bucks were able to sneak past the Rochester Honkers 8-7 in 12 innings on Thursday at Mayo Field. The win was the Bucks first on the road and broke a 10-game losing streak as they improve to 8-22. The Honkers lost their fourth straight contest and fall to 14-17.
Reed Hjelle (Minnesota Crookston) and Ryan Casper (Point Loma Nazarene) led the Honkers offense with two hits apiece. Jaylon McLaughlin (Nevada) and Nate Webb (UC Riverside) each crushed two-run home runs, it was the first homers of the year for McLaughlin and Webb.
Cole Quintanilla (Texas) started on the hill for the Honkers, Quintanilla tossed four innings surrendering five runs on eight hits. Tristan Stevens (Texas) made his Honkers debut and threw seven innings giving up two runs on five hits and struck out five. Joshua Ibarra (Concordia Irvine) was the losing pitcher for Rochester, he worked one inning giving up one run and struck out three.
Trey Leonard (Louisville) gave Waterloo a quick 1-0 lead as he ripped a leadoff home run on the second pitch of the game. The Bucks went up 2-0 in the second as Kevin Welsh (Rutgers) doubled to left field to bring in a run.
The Honkers tied up the game in the second on a RBI triple from Hjelle, he came around to score on an error in the same play to complete the little league home run.
Brendan Heuth (St. Joseph’s) tacked on a run for Waterloo in the third, scoring on the only Honkers error of the game to give the Bucks a 3-2 lead.
Rochester had an answer getting the run back in the third as Michael Michalak (Illinois) grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring home McLaughlin and tie the contest at three.
Leonard gave Waterloo another lead in the fourth with a RBI single to left and later came around to score as he stole home and pushed their lead to 5-3.
The Honkers came back to tie the game at five in the fourth as Webb ripped a timely two-run home run over the left field wall.
In the fifth, Patrick Ferguson (Kent State) gave the Bucks a two-run lead on one swing of the bat with a two-run home run of his own.
Rochester would once again tie the game at seven on a two-run home run off the bat of McLaughlin in the eighth.
The winning run came home for Waterloo in the 12th on a base loaded fielder’s choice off the bat of Tyler Sandoval (Colorado Mesa) that brought home Hueth to give them a 8-7 lead.
Robert Reaser (Lewis & Clark) earned his first win for the Bucks, he worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings striking out two.
The Honkers and Bucks will rematch on Friday at Mayo Field for Fireworks Extravaganza presented by Olmsted Medical Center and ABC 6 News. Drew Slade (Ripon) is scheduled to pitch for the Honkers, he has posted a 7.77 ERA and a 1-3 record. Slade will be matched up against Blake Walden (New Mexico) from the Bucks, Walden has a 2-1 record and a 6.00 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 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. Now in 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 190 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.
