The Rochester Honkers (29-30, 11-14) dropped their third of four games in North Dakota 6-5 to the Minot Hots (15-41, 8-16) on a Sunday afternoon in Minot.
Rochester came back from a four-run deficit in the fourth inning to tie the game at four. Petey Craska (Georgia Tech) delivered a big two-run double and Brendan O’Sullivan (UNLV) and Mattie Thomas (San Francisco) produced productive outs that scored runs.
Frank Craska (Quinnipiac) allowed two runs in five innings of relief after Jackson Lux (Pacific) surrendered four runs in just three innings. It was Lux’s first start of the season.
After Petey Craska tied the game at five with his seventh home run of the season, Minot took the lead in the home half of the seventh inning and would not relinquish it.
Hudson Hart (Oral Roberts) (1-1) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief while Cam Kaufman (Des Moines Area) closed the door with a three-out save.
After three days off because of the Great Plains All-Star break, Rochester will resume play versus the Waterloo Bucks. Scheduled first pitch time on Thu., Aug 3 is 12:05 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.
