ROCHESTER, MINN. — Rochester Honkers ace Larson Kindreich (Biola) turned in another superlative start, but the Team in Teal (7-27) fell apart in the latter half of the afternoon to drop the Sunday matinee 10-1 to the Waterloo Bucks (26-17).
Kindreich began the game in rare form, striking out the side in order to sit down the Bucks in the first. The lanky left-hander went on to strike out 10, tying his season high and the most any Honker has thrown in a single outing this season. Kindreich struck out a batter in each of the six innings he pitched, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits while walking a pair of Bucks en route to his second losing decision of the season.
Waterloo struck first when, in the fourth inning, a single off the bat of Peyton Williams (Iowa) got away from Mitch Olson (St. Scholastica) in right to bring in the first run of the ballgame. The Honkers were quick to even the score in the bottom half, when Aaron Simmons (Wisconsin-Stevens Point) skied a solo home run over the right-field wall to knot the scoring at one apiece.
The Bucks ran away with the contest beginning in the sixth inning, the first of four straight frames in which Waterloo put up at least two runs. A two-run homer off the bat of Jalen Smith (UC Davis) opened the Bucks’ lead to 3-1. Waterloo added two in the seventh, two in the eighth and three in the ninth — punctuated by a three-run mammoth home run off the top of the apartment complex in right by Williams, tying the single-season Bucks home run record with 13 — to hang nine runs from the sixth inning forward, sprinting to a 10-1 victory.
Rochester pieced together four hits, including the solo shot off the bat of Simmons. Olson picked up his first hit in a Honkers uniform, and Bryce Begell (Sacramento City College) and Jacob Shaver (Arizona) each picked up singles as well.
Logan Sanders’ (Pima CC) six-game hit streak came to an end after the rising junior went 0-for-2 with a walk. Sanders’ on-base streak lives on, though, standing at a season-high seven games.
The Honkers travel to Waterloo Riverfront Stadium on Monday night for their last matchup with the Bucks in the 2020 season before returning to Mayo Field for the final homestand of the season versus the St. Cloud Rox on Tuesday and Wednesday. First pitch from Waterloo is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CST, with Honkers Pregame Live presented by Rochester Toyota airing at 6:30 to get you set for all the action. Join Jordan Lank for the call at mixlr.com/honkersbroadcast.
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