ROCHESTER, Minn. – The La Crosse Loggers took the opening game of Thursday’s doubleheader, defeating the Rochester Honkers 8-4 at Mayo Field.
Rochester handed the ball to one of its most reliable arms, Cooper Annin, and the right-hander turned in another solid outing despite taking the loss.
Annin worked around a leadoff walk in the first inning, inducing a double play before Robert Orr tracked down a line drive to end the inning and keep La Crosse off the board.
The Loggers broke through in the second. A leadoff single and a walk put two runners aboard with no outs. After a pair of groundouts advanced the runners, two wild pitches allowed La Crosse to score twice and grab an early 2-0 advantage.
The Honkers answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning.
After struggling in the series against Thunder Bay, Seth Thompson came to the plate looking to make an impact. The outfielder launched a solo home run to right field, cutting Rochester’s deficit to 2-1.
Annin settled in after the second, tossing a scoreless third to give the offense another opportunity.
With two outs in the bottom of the third, Angel Santiago delivered. The infielder crushed a solo homer over the fence, tying the game at 2-2.
Annin finished his afternoon after three innings before James Whitaker turned to Aaron Ploszay out of the bullpen. The left-hander was sharp early, working around a pair of walks in the fourth. After recording one out, the Loggers attempted a squeeze bunt, but a bizarre sequence ended the inning when a ground ball to second struck Ryan Drum while he was advancing to second base, resulting in the final out.
La Crosse regained control in the fifth.
A walk and a single once again put pressure on the Rochester defense. Annin had already exited, and Ploszay induced a groundout and a flyout to nearly escape the inning. However, another walk and a base hit by Mana Lau Kong plated two runs to give the Loggers a 4-2 lead. Moments later, with Chucka still at third, La Crosse executed a delayed steal that resulted in Lau Kong being caught in a rundown. Because Chucka crossed the plate before the tag was applied, the run counted on a timing play, extending the Loggers’ lead.
Following the game, La Crosse field manager Justin Ramsey discussed the challenge of facing Annin for the third time this summer.
“I mean it’s the third time we’ve seen him this year,” Ramsey said. “We knew he could really pitch. We knew we were going to have to manufacture, and hats off to the offense to find a way to do that. Put together at-bats, scrapping together some runs for us.”
Ploszay continued to keep Rochester within striking distance, but the Loggers added insurance runs late to build an 8-2 lead.
The Honkers made one final push in the eighth. After a one-out single by Kruk, Jacob Neutz stepped to the plate with two outs and drove a two-run homer to right field, trimming the deficit to 8-4.
Despite allowing the late home run, Ploszay was outstanding in relief, tossing five innings while surrendering just two earned runs.
“Staying with the fastball in the zone, getting ground balls,” Ploszay said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much. Just trying to get some weak contact and get outs that way.”
Rochester was unable to generate another rally, as the Loggers closed out an 8-4 victory in the opener of the doubleheader.
The two teams return to Mayo Field for game two at 6:35 p.m.
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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.
