There were multiple opportunities for both teams to win Wednesday’s wild, wacky and weird 11-inning thriller. The difference was one single play at the plate and Waterloo bested Rochester 10-9.
The game entered the tenth tied at nine. Waterloo pushed their automatic runner to third with one out with Evan Morrison coming to the plate.
Morrison lifted a fly ball into left field that was tracked down by Luca Dipalo. He fired a perfect one-hopper into the plate that was received by catcher Max Ortega who tagged the runner out in one motion.
All Rochester had to do was get their runner home from third. They advanced that runner, Ortega, to third with two outs and a ball slipped past the catcher. He tracked it down, threw it to the pitcher covering and Ortega was called out trying to score the winning run.
The Bucks were able to scratch out the victory in the eleventh.
The Honkers put up a solid offensive showing with 11 hits and nine runs. They were led by Dom Rodriguez who had a three-hit game. Augusto Mungarrieta went 2/4 with two walks and Petey Craska had a pair of hits.
Rochester fell to 2-14 with the loss. They will open a two-game series with Thunder Bay tomorrow.
The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit northwoodsleague.com/rochester-honkers or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Honkers as your favorite team.
