First pitch at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, IA came in shortly after the scheduled 6:35 p.m. time. Over four hours later, after the stroke of midnight, the Rochester Honkers (7-2) defeated the Waterloo Bucks (4-5) in extra innings to strengthen their stronghold atop the Great Plains East division.
The contest was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning before the game was paused due to lightning and inclement weather in the area. After an one hour and 51 minute delay, play resumed.
After reliever Jacob Bosse (St Ambrose State) shut down the Bucks in the inning, both offenses would come alive. The visitors added two runs in the top of the fifth on RBI’s from leaders Jakob Guardado (Pasadena City College) and Griffen Sotomayor (Washington State).
Waterloo punched back in the home half of the inning, scoring four runs aided by five walks in the inning by the combination of Bosse and Dylan Tostrup (USC). Bosse finished with all four earned runs on his line after he walked three and Drake Westcott (Illinois) reached on a dropped third strike.
The Honkers tied the game back up in the sixth as Paul Schoenfeld (Colorado Mesa) reached base on an infield single. No runs would be scored until extra innings as Drew Fifer (Indiana State) threw three scoreless innings for Rochester while Ty Roder (Wright State) countered with 3.1 scoreless.
Under the floodlights illuminating a near vacant ballpark, Rochester sealed their third straight win in the 10th inning, scoring three runs on just one hit. With two outs and runners on every base, Schoenfeld put the ball in play to the right side and reached on another infield single – his third of the night and his fourth in three games with the Honkers. One more run would come across on a throwing error on the play and Guardado added an insurance run with an RBI single.
Starting center fielder and two-way player Chase Spencer (Air Force) got the win. Spencer threw the last two innings without allowing a run, forcing a weak ground out with the bases loaded to send the Honkers back to Rochester, MN tired – but happy.
The Honkers are now 7-2 on the season, tied for best in the entire Northwoods League. They are in action at Mayo Field on Thu., June 8 vs the same Waterloo Bucks. The scheduled time for first pitch is 6:35 p.m.
The Rochester Honkers began their 30th season of play on May 29th. Keep up with the team on social media by following them on Twitter (@RochHonkers) and Instagram (@honkersbaseball) and like the Honkers on Facebook at Rochester Honkers Baseball Club. Interact on social by using the hashtag #FunForTheWholeFlock!
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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 310 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
