ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Rochester Honkers pounded out 19 hits en route to a 15-5 victory over the Duluth Huskies on Sunday afternoon, completing a series sweep and continuing their recent surge up the Great Plains East standings.
With the series on the line, Rochester took control from the opening innings.
After a smooth first inning from starting pitcher Maclain Roberts, it was Sam Harry who got the scoring started once again. Harry launched a solo home run to left field to give the Honkers an early 1-0 lead.
Rochester continued to apply pressure in the second inning. Nolan Ganter sparked a three-run frame by driving a ball off the green wall in center field for the team’s first triple of the season.
Ganter said the extra-base hit was a welcome sight after a recent stretch of struggles at the plate.
“You know, it’s been something I was struggling with lots of strikeouts lately,” Ganter said. “But finally it felt good to connect and get a couple extra-base hits and help out the team.”
The early offensive support allowed Roberts to settle in on the mound, though Duluth responded in the third inning with back-to-back solo home runs from Sam Haugen and Max Berrisford.
Roberts faced one of his toughest innings of the season as his pitch count climbed near the Northwoods League’s 35-pitch inning limit. Needing just one more out to continue his outing, the left-hander induced a lineout to center field and escaped the frame.
Honkers manager Jason Jacome praised Roberts’ ability to battle through adversity.
“He didn’t have his best stuff today,” Jácome said. “He threw an awful lot of balls, and I was afraid he was going to throw 35 pitches there. But he got through it, battled his way through it, and the rest of the guys picked him up.”
Roberts went on to complete five innings, allowing five hits while striking out six.
The Honkers’ offense took over from there.
A five-run sixth inning blew the game open and extended Rochester’s lead to 12-2. By that point, the Huskies had no answer for a lineup that has been among the hottest in the league over the past week.
Rochester’s recent winning streak has propelled the club from the middle of the standings into second place in the Great Plains East Division, trailing only the La Crosse Loggers.
Jácome credited the team’s chemistry for its recent success.
“Mostly, they’re all becoming friends and getting comfortable out there,” Jácome said. “They’re putting good swings on the ball and doing the job.”
While Duluth managed three late runs against Rochester’s bullpen in the seventh and eighth innings, the outcome was never seriously in doubt. Alex Kronfeld recorded the final outs in the ninth inning to secure the 15-5 win.
The victory improves Rochester to 10-8 on the season, just 1.5 games behind the La Crosse Loggers in the division race.
The Honkers will travel to face the Waterloo Bucks on Monday before returning to Mayo Field on Tuesday night for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch against Waterloo.
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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 on FloSports. 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.
