The Honkers entered the ninth inning down two against Eric Lin, a reliever against whom they were a combined 0/4 with four strikeouts. Then, lightning struck.
Rochester took the lead in the second thanks to an RBI single from Petey Craska.
However, Rochester fell behind when the league’s best offense plated three runs across three innings.
It was limited to just that, as starter Matthew Brock worked his way out of multiple tough situations to limit Rockford’s damage. Out of the bullpen, Alex Miller worked four stellar shutout innings, giving up just two hits and striking out five.
Rockford called Lin in for the eighth where he struck out the side. All looked lost for the Honkers when he came back out for the ninth.
However, they got their spark from Reiss Calvin, who homered for the second time in as many days. Luca Dipalo then walked, putting the winning run at the plate.
Andrew Cain came up and launched a walk off, two-run homer over the right field fence, sending Rochester to a 4-3 win and their 14th win of the year.
The Honkers will now hit the road for a game in La Crosse before hosting the Loggers on Monday night.
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.
