BISMARCK, ND – The Rochester Honkers were unable to win their second in a row on Saturday night, losing 11-7 to the Bismarck Larks, dropping three of four to Bismarck. 

The night started well for Rochester, they took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second after RBI singles from AJ Campbell (Frostburg State), Nate Chester (Mississippi State), and Theo Hardy (San Jose State). Bismarck quickly responded, putting up eight runs in the bottom half of the inning to take complete command. The big hit in the frame was a grand slam off the bat of Garrett Macias (Cal State San Bernardino). Other RBI hits in the inning came from Zen Hiatt (Montevallo) and Dylan Perry (Haskaskia CC). 

The Honkers wouldn’t go down without a fight, they scored a run in the third on an Alex Ritzer (UNC) groundout and pulled within one in the fourth thanks to a two run triple off the bat of Will Asby (University of San Francisco) and RBI single by Zach Meddings (Coastal Carolina). 

Bismarck took a 9-7 lead into the eighth where they added two more to put the final nail in the coffin, Ryan Curran (Montevallo) drove in a run with an RBI single and they added another on a bases loaded hit by pitch to Zen Hiatt. 

Nate Boyle (Drury) came in and locked it down for the Larks in the ninth, striking out one in a scoreless inning. 

The Honkers drop three of four to the Larks, falling to 2-4 this season. They return home to take on the La Crosse Loggers (1-5) on Sunday. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. from Mayo Field. Brant Alazaus (Walsh University) makes his season debut on the mound after his all-star season for Rochester last summer.