ROCHESTER, MN. – You could be forgiven for thinking that you were experiencing deja vu during today’s game as once again the Honkers built a nice lead and for the second straight day the St. Cloud Rox made a comeback late. The one big difference is that this time the Rox took the lead and held on for a 5-3 win on what was a beautiful day for baseball for all 733 fans who attended the game.
The Honkers got the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. It all began with a single by Tim Borden II (Louisville) who then stole second base. Trace Peterson (Lake Erie College) hit a double but Borden being cautious only advanced to third. Jack Thelen (UW-Milwaukee) was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. A fielder’s choice hit by Henry George (UM-Duluth) scored the first run, while a sacrifice-fly by Craig Shepherd (Evansville) put Rochester up 2-0.
The home team tacked on one more run in bottom of the sixth inning. Just like the fourth inning, it was the bottom of the lineup that got things going. George and Shepherd hit back-to-back singles and rhe leadoff batter Aaron Simmons (UW-Stevens Point) hit a RBI single to score George and give Rochester a 3-0 lead.
Zach Smith (North Dakota State) started for the Honkers and he pitched a gem. He struck out seven batters and only gave up one run in seven innings of work. That lone run came in the top of the seventh inning after a Freddy Achecar single scored Jordan Barth who had hit a double earlier in the inning.
A scoreless eighth inning for both teams left the score 3-1 in favor of the Honkers entering the ninth inning. Daniel Silva (UC-Colorado Springs) came in for the save but he just couldn’t get the outs he needed. Thomas Delagadillo led the inning with a single, Silva then hit Tyler Finke with a pitch, and he loaded the bases by giving up a single to Barth. With no outs, the fourth St. Cloud batter, Gus Steiger, laced a two-run single to left field to tie the game.
After getting two outs, the Honkers hoped to head into the bottom of the ninth inning with a chance for a walk-off win, but Rox catcher Andrew Garcia had other plans as his two-run single gave St. Cloud a 5-3 lead.
St. Cloud pitcher Kevin Davis picked up the save by retiring all three Rochester batters he faced, while Rox pitcher Taylor Lepard was the winning pitcher as he held the Honkers scoreless in the seventh and eighth inning.
The Rochester Honkers continue its homestand tomorrow night, May 30, when they host the Thunder Bay Border Cats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Season tickets and new all-you-can-eat ticket packages are available for purchase right now at www.RochesterHonkers.com or by calling the Honkers front office at 507-289-1170.
The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 26th 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, over 200 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 (MIA). 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.
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