BISMARCK, ND. – The Rochester Honkers got strong pitching from their starters to help them win both games of Wednesday’s double-header against the Bismarck Larks. The Honkers won game one 8-1 and game two 6-2.
Even though game one began at 9:30 a.m., it didn’t take long for Rochester’s bats to wake up. They jumped out to an early lead by scoring three runs in the first inning. The first run occured when Ryan Wrobleski (Dallas Baptist) hit an RBI double to score Tristan Peterson (New Mexico State) who had drawn a walk earlier in the inning. Then, Brennan Schmitt (UW-La Crosse) drew another walk, this time with the bases loaded, to score Wrobleski. Lastly, Joey Daini (Sacramento City College) drew another bases-loaded walk which scored Aaron Simmons (UW-Stevens Point) who had gotten on base by being hit by a pitch.
Rochester starter Daniel Silva began his start of the season by retiring the side in the bottom of the first inning.
Bismarck brought in a new pitcher, Gavin Rogers, to face the Honker’s offense in the second inning, but that didn’t stop Rochester from putting another three runs on the board. The scoring began when Peterson hit an RBI single which gave Evan Berkey (Cal State-Bakersfield) just enough time to go from second base to home plate. Peterson later got rewarded for his RBI by scoring on an RBI single by Simmons. After getting a single earlier in the inning, Wrobleski scored to put the Honkers up 6-0 after just two innings
The Larks’ offense got going in the second inning thanks to a single, a long pop-fly that advanced the runner, Luke Stephenson, to second base, and another single to put runners on the corners. But Silva kept the damage to just one run which came on a sac-fly by Jacob Rogers.
After a couple scoreless innings, Rochester got that run back when Seth Nelson (Golden West College) hit an RBI single to score Daini from second base. That run put the Honkers up 7-1 in the fifth inning.
That was plenty of support for Silva who seemed to get better as the game went on. He retired the side in the fifth, seventh, and eighth innings.
The Honkers added one more run in the ninth inning when Schmitt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Peterson from third.
Anthony Rodriguez (Monroe College) got the last three outs to preserve the 8-1 win.
The second game looked like it would be a pitcher’s duel as both starters held their opponents scoreless during the first three innings of the game.
The Larks got the scoring started in the fourth when Ronnie McBride hit an RBI single to score Alex Peterson.
The Honkers quickly responded by scoring two runs in their next at-bat. With two runners in scoring position, Simmons hit a two-run single to help Berkey and Henry George (UM-Duluth) cross home plate.
Rochester got even more runs in the sixth inning. The first two runs came on a double by Jack Thelen (UW-Milwaukee). He ended up scoring on a wild pitch to make the score 5-1.
Honkers’ starter Evan Layne (Lake Erie College) bounced back after allowing a run in the fourth by holding the Larks scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings. He finished with six strikeouts and only four hits allowed in his six innings of work.
Marc Bisogno (Fordham) came in to pitch the seventh for the Honkers and he maintained the great pitching by only giving up one run, which came on a wild pitch, in three innings.
Rochester got one more run when Berkey hit an RBI single to score Nelson.
Both starting pitchers for the Honkers, Daniel Silva and Evan Layne, were named the Profile Sanford Player of the Game for their respective games.
The two wins boosted the Honkers’ record to 10-7.
Rochester will play one more game against Bismarck on Thursday before coming home for a six-game homestand.
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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