Against a team they’ve had problems against for much of this season, the Rochester Honkers (24-23, 6-7) defeated the Eau Claire Express (25-22, 5-8) soundly by a final score of 6-2. Drew Peters (San Joaquin Delta College), brother of assistant coach Cade Peters, hurled a gem as he went 6 1/3 innings and did not allow an earned run.

Despite Peters’s outstanding outing, the Express looked strong early on. The first batter of the game, Nate Witte (UW-Eau Claire) reached on an error by Brendan O’Sullivan (UNLV) and Cort MacDonald (Stanford) promptly tripled him in.

However, the Honkers offense responded in a big way in the bottom of the first. Paul Schoenfeld (Colorado Mesa) reached on an error and Dario Gomez (Miami) doubled him in to tie the game. Later on in the inning, Petey Craska (Georgia Tech) stepped up to the plate with two runners on and two outs.

Craska smashed a home run out to left center field and gave the Honkers a 4-1 lead. The Flock picked up a run in the second and a run in the third to take a 6-1 lead and thats howe the game would stay until the seventh inning. Peters came out with two on and one out as Trevor Lee (Wichita State) took over for him.

Lee did allow an inherited runner to score an unearned run, but tossed 2 2/3 of dominant ball as he battled the Eau Claire hitters and earned a save for his efforts. The Honkers will be in action on Sunday in Eau Claire to battle the Express. First pitch is at 2:00 pm.

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.