Rochester was unable to put the finishing touches on a game they led for most of the way, dropping the series finale after a two-run Mankato ninth. The Honker offense collected seven hits in the game’s first four innings but mustered only one hit in the final five frames.

Rochester took the first lead of the game for a second straight night, loading the bases on back-to-back singles by Seth Betts (Crown College) and Alex Pimentel (Long Beach St) followed by a Jack Collette (San Jose St) walk. JJ Cruz (Cal St Fullerton) lifted a single into right to push across the game’s first run. It was Cruz’s second RBI on the season.

The Honkers tacked on a run in the following inning, a Mac Horvath (North Carolina) one-out double put a runner in scoring position for Alex Pimentel, who drove home Horvath with his second hit of the night.

Mankato would answer the two in the ballgame, cutting the Honker lead in half in the third on a Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon) single. The Moondogs tied it in the sixth when a Jack Costello (San Diego) groundout scored Evan Berkey (Cal St Bakersfield).

Rochester battled back to take the lead once again in the seventh, Mac Horvath delivered a bases loaded sacrifice fly to score J.J. Cruz.

The Honkers held a one run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth but a walk, but a Cole Andavolgyi (Golden West) walk, Dustin Demeter (Hawaii) single, error, and wild pitch allowed Mankato to pull even. With the winning run at third and two-out, Evan Berkey punched a two-strike game winning single into right field.

Rochester drops to 5-11, they host the Duluth Huskies tomorrow night at 6:35 from Mayo Field.

By Nick DeLuca// Broadcasting and Media Relations Intern