WATERLOO, IA – Every Honkers batter that had a plate appearance recorded a hit and three pitchers combined for the Rochester Honkers fourth shutout of the summer as Rochester defeated the Waterloo Bucks 18-0 on Wednesday night at Riverfront Stadium.
The Honkers took the lead in the second. Jaxson Edwards (Lubbock Christian) drove in the first run of the game with a RBI single to right field. The Honkers scored three more runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead. Brendan O’Sullivan (Delta College) drove in a run with an RBI groundout and Will Asby (Sac City) smashed a two run double down the left field line, two of his four RBI on the night.
The Honkers blew the game open with a five spot in the fifth to take a 9-0 lead which was more than enough for the Rochester starter Jacob Smith (Tennessee at Martin). In his sixth start of the summer Smith was terrific. He threw six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Smith improved his record to 3-1 and moved his ERA down to 2.77 with his sparkling performance.
The Honkers pulled even more away from Waterloo with nine runs in the final three innings to make it 18-0. On the night Michael Brown (Washington) had three hits and scored three runs. Carson Stevens (Cal Poly) drove in three runs and scored three times as well. Leadoff man Alex Ritzer (UNC) reached base five times and scored three runs while Tyler White (Long Beach State), batting second, scored four runs.
The Honkers set a new season high in runs scored in a single game to improve to 6-1 against Waterloo this summer. They’ll look to sweep the Bucks for the third time tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. from Riverfront Stadium.