(Rochester, Minn.) – The second half leading Duluth Huskies had no shortage of offense as they defeated the Rochester Honkers 20-1 Monday at Wade Stadium. The Huskies extended their win streak to five and improve to 17-6 in the second half and 41-18 overall. The Honkers drop to 11-12 and 28-31.
Chris Gilbody (Georgetown) gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the first driving a double that brought home a run. Hunter Bigge (Harvard) extended the Huskies lead with a two-RBI single to make the score 3-0.
In the second, Duluth added to their lead as Nicholas Sogard (Loyola Marymount) grounded out to bring home the first run of the second. Gilbody roped his second double of the game to bring home a run and push the Duluth lead to 5-0.
The Huskies put five runs on the board in the third. Julian Escobedo (San Diego State) drove in the first two runs as he roped a double. Later in the inning, Escobedo came around to score on an error to extend the lead to 8-0. Sean Watkins (Cal State LA) crushed a two-run home run to cap off the scoring in the third.
The Honkers were able to get on the board in the fifth as Logan Denholm (UC Davis) roped a solo home run to cut the Huskies lead to 10-1. For Denholm, it was his third homer of the season.
Duluth was able to add eight more runs in the fifth. Carlos Moseley (Cumberland) started the rally by coming around to score on a pass ball. General McArthur (Missouri Baptist) and Tony Monroy (Georgetown) each brought home a run by drawing walks with the bases loaded. Escobedo singled to bring home the fourth run of the inning. Christian Jones (Washington) capped off the scoring in the inning by launching a grand slam.
The Huskies added two more in the eighth. McArthur ripped an RBI double to make the score 19-1. Escobedo gave the Huskies their 20th run as he grounded out to first to bring in a run.
Honkers starting pitcher Nick Simak (Roosevelt) took the loss in his season debut. Simak pitched four innings and gave up eight runs on 10 hits. Connor McCollum (Colorado Christian) worked 1/3 of an inning and gave up seven runs on two hits. Casey Dunlap (Point Loma Nazarene) worked 2/3 of an inning and surrendered one run on three hits. Nate Webb (UC Riverside) was able to come in relief and work two scoreless innings. Matt Hardy (UC Riverside) tossed one inning and gave up two runs on three hits.
Duluth starting pitcher Jack Corbell (Miami Ohio) picked up his second win for the Huskies. Corbell tossed five innings and gave up one run on five hits.
The Honkers look to bounce back against the Huskies on Tuesday at Wade Stadium. Zak Devermann (Illinois) is scheduled to start for the Honkers. The left-hander has a 4-3 record and a 4.00 ERA. Bigge is scheduled to start for Duluth, he has a 3-2 record and a 3.73 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 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.
