Rochester, MN. – After scoring the first run yesterday but eventually losing, the Honkers did the opposite on Sunday, July 7, as Thunder Bay got an early lead, but with the help of 1,102 fans cheering them on the Flock came from behind to win 5-2.
The Border Cats quickly had a runner in scoring position as their second batter, Jake Engel, hit a double. He advanced to third base on a single by Anthony Galati and then scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Ryne Edmondson.
Thunder Bay held that 1-0 lead until the bottom of the second inning when Rochester’s offense got going thanks to a couple of batters from the University of Oregon. First, A.J. Miller lined a double into left field and then Vinny Tosti hit a single to put runners on the corners. Up next was the lead-off batter Andy Armstrong (Oregon State) and he brought home Miller with an RBI single.
After giving up a run in the first inning, Honkers’ starter Dwayne Marshall (Maryland-Eastern Shore) settled down by retiring the side in the second inning and only allowing one base runner in the third.
However, Thunder Bay got another scoring threat in the top of the fourth inning when Edmondson advanced to first base on an error by Rochester’s second baseman Ryan Ober (Oregon State) and stole second base. Jordan Larson then drew a walk, but Marshall got a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning.
After a quiet bottom of the fourth inning, the Border Cats once again got a runner into scoring position when Jakob Newton drew a walk and then stole second base. Fortunately, the Honkers got Newton out on a fielder’s choice. Galati then drew a walk, but Marshall got his ninth strikeout to end the inning.
Tristan Peterson (New Mexico State) got the bottom of the fifth off to a good start with a single. Then, Ryan Wrobleski (Dallas Baptist) drew a walk and Zack Zalesky (Oregon State) reached first base on a Thunder Bay error to load the bases. Ryan Ober got a pitch he liked and deposited it over the left field fence for a grand slam to put Rochester up 5-1.
Marc Bisogno came in to pitch the eighth inning, but Thunder Bay got an Edmondson walk and a Conor Allard double to put runners on third and second base. Edmondson later scored when Alexander Hernandez hit an RBI single to make the score 5-2.
After allowing a walk and two quick outs, Bisogno struggled to get the last out as the Border Cats had a batter hit by a pitch and a single by Edmondson to load the bases. Honkers’ manager Thomas Walker then called in All-Star reliever Keon Taylor who got the last out of the game via a strikeout to give Rochester a 5-2 victory.
Rochester’s second half record is now 3-2 and their overall record drops to 21-19.
Ober was named the Profile Sanford Player of the Game for knocking in four of the Honkers’ five runs.
The Honkers continue their series against the Thunder Bay Border Cats on Monday, July 8. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. After that, the Flock travels to St. Cloud, MN, to take on the Rox on Tuesday, July 9, at 7:05 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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