Rochester, Minn. – The Rochester Honkers dropped the series finale to the La Crosse Loggers, 9-5, on Wednesday night at Mayo Field. The loss completed a series sweep for La Crosse and extended Rochester’s losing streak to six games.
Jack Creviston received the start for Rochester and settled into a rhythm after allowing a leadoff double in the opening inning. He worked around the early hit to keep the Loggers off the scoreboard. Across the diamond, Brayden Olson got the ball for La Crosse and came out sharp, retiring the Honkers in order to begin his outing.
The Loggers broke through in the second inning after Rochester’s defense opened the door. Robert Orr committed an error to begin the frame, giving La Crosse an extra opportunity. Creviston responded with a strikeout, but consecutive walks loaded the bases before an infield single brought home the game’s first run. Savion Flowers then capped off an excellent plate appearance by drawing a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0.
After a quick bottom half by the Honkers, La Crosse’s offense erupted in the third. The Loggers sent nearly their entire lineup to the plate as a combination of timely hits, walks, and defensive miscues resulted in a five-run inning. By the end of the frame, La Crosse had built a commanding 7-0 advantage.
Rochester answered in the bottom of the third. The Honkers have been at their best this season when the bottom of the lineup sets the table, and that was the case once again. Mike Polibinski worked a one-out walk before Mikey Brunetti struck out, bringing leadoff hitter Matt Maize to the plate with two outs. Maize lined a 2-2 pitch down the right-field line, allowing Polibinski to race home from first for Rochester’s first run. Angel Santiago followed with an RBI single to trim the deficit to 7-2.
Neither team scored in the fourth, but reliever Javier Mendoza gave Rochester exactly what it needed out of the bullpen with a scoreless inning to keep the Honkers within striking distance.
The offense rewarded him in the fifth. Polibinski started the rally with an infield single before Brunetti dropped a base hit into shallow left, moving Polibinski to third. Although Maize struck out, Santiago reached on an E6 by shortstop Bianco, allowing another run to score and cutting the deficit to 7-4.
Mendoza continued to deal on the mound, keeping the Loggers off the board once again and giving Rochester another chance to climb back into the game.
The Honkers chipped away in the sixth. Back-to-back singles by Neutz and Drumm set the table, and Matt Maize lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring Rochester within two runs at 7-5.
Mendoza returned for a fourth inning of relief in the seventh and recorded back-to-back strikeouts before issuing a walk to Savion Flowers. Joey Senstock then got a hanging curveball and launched it deep into right-center field for a two-run home run, extending the Loggers’ lead to 9-5.
After the game, Senstock explained what he was looking for at the plate.
“Just finally good to get the barrel head back out in front. Noticed that they’re just throwing me lots of sliders all day, so I just decided to sit on that at-bat.”
The Honkers threatened late but could not complete the comeback as La Crosse’s pitching staff shut the door. Olson and Peyton Olds combined to cover all nine innings, allowing the Loggers to preserve their bullpen during a demanding stretch of games.
With four games in two days, Loggers manager Justin Ramsey emphasized how valuable it was to get a complete game from just two pitchers.
“That was huge. Obviously, we’ve got four more games in the next two days, so for those guys to cover game two the way they did was outstanding,” Ramsey said. “Obviously, Olson gave us a really nice start to the game, and then Peyton to come in and do that was just awesome to see all his hard work paying off like that.”
La Crosse completed the series sweep with the 9-5 victory. Rochester will hit the road to face the Waterloo Bucks before returning home Saturday for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch at Mayo Field.
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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. Now in its’ 32nd 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, 360 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 two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). 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. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com 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.
