(Rochester, Minn.) – To say that the Rochester Honkers offense is hot would be an understatement. The Honkers put nine runs and 14 hits on the board to defeat the Bismarck Larks 9-7 Saturday at Mayo Field. The Honkers won their third straight to move to 8-9 in the second half and 25-28 overall. The Larks fall to 5-12 and 30-23.
Alex McGarry (Oregon State) extended his hit streak to 11 games after going 4-for-4 on the night. Additionally, McGarry has eight consecutive multi-hit games. Andy Armstrong (Oregon State) added three hits for the Honkers, Christian Robinson (Stanford) and Michael Michalak (Illinois) each had two hits.
Honkers starting pitcher Eddie Mathis (Bellarmine) was rewarded with his first win of the year after tossing five innings and surrendering four runs on eight hits. Zach Sundine (Lamar CC) worked one inning giving up three runs on one hit. Ryan Dorney (St. Martin’s) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out three. Joshua Ibarra (Concordia Irvine) worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings to post his 10th save of the year.
The Honkers scored six runs right out of the gate in the first. McGarry got the scoring started in the inning driving in a run with a single. Michalak drove in McGarry with a single of his own to put the Honkers up 2-0. Austin Schell (Golden West) gave the Honkers a three-run lead with a RBI single to center. Taylor Adams (Oregon) brought in Robinson with a ground out to third. Mike Peabody (UC Irvine) capped off the scoring in the inning driving in two with a single.
The Larks got two runs back in the second. Matthew Warkentin (Xavier) ripped a two-run home run to cut the Honkers lead to 6-2.
Rochester was able to get the two runs back in the second. Michalak singled to center to bring home a run and make the score 7-2. Robinson followed up with a RBI single of his own and extend the lead to 8-2.
Michael Farnell (Murray State) cut the Honkers lead to 8-3 with a RBI single in the third for the Larks. In the fourth, CJ Ballard (Georgia Gwinnett) gave Bismarck another run hitting a single to center.
The Honkers got one run back in the fifth as Nate Webb (UC Riverside) came in to score on an error by the Bismarck catcher and extend the lead to 9-4.
The Larks rallied for three runs in the sixth. Ripken Reyes (California) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home a run. Tristen Carranza (New Mexico State) brought in two more runs with a single to right to cut the Honkers lead to 9-7.
Bismarck starting pitcher Danny Kuhn (St. Johns) was tagged with his second loss of the year. Kuhn tossed 1 1/3 innings giving up eight runs on 10 hits.
The Honkers and the Larks rematch Sunday at Mayo Field for Host Family Appreciation Day and Operation Rochester Strong: Military Appreciation Day. Additionally, it is Slider’s Kids Club Day, kids eat free on the Sports Deck and run the bases after the game. Zak Devermann (Illinois) is scheduled to start for the Honkers, Devermann has a 3-3 record and a 4.09 ERA. Matt Butler (St. Cloud State) is scheduled to pitch for Bismarck, the right-hander has a 0-0 record and a 2.87 ERA. 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. 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.
