ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Rochester Honkers stayed unbeaten in the second half of the Northwoods League season with a 7-4 win over the Mankato Moondogs on Wednesday night at Mayo Field, improving to 3-0 after the midway break.
Manager Jason Jácome handed the ball to left-hander Ian Regal for his sixth start of the season, and the veteran delivered.
Coming off Mankato’s 14-7 victory over Minot the night before, slowing down one of the league’s hottest offenses was no easy task. Regal responded with one of his strongest outings of the summer.
The left-hander ran into trouble early, issuing a leadoff walk before an error in left field by Matt Maize allowed Mankato to grab a 1-0 lead in the opening inning.
Rochester wasted little time responding.
Sam Hall singled on the second pitch of the bottom of the first to begin the rally before Sam Harry followed with a base hit. Jackson Glueck drew a walk to load the bases, and with two outs, Maize made up for the earlier miscue by lining a two-run single into right field to give the Honkers a 2-1 lead.
Regal followed with a quick scoreless second inning before the offense added on.
Cooper Kruk opened the inning with a walk, setting the stage for Ezekiel Mendoza, who made his first live plate appearance since April after spending nearly all of his summer pitching. Mendoza lined a single into right field before Harry ripped a two-run single through the middle, extending Rochester’s lead to 4-1.
From there, Regal and Mankato starter Sam Hall settled into a pitchers’ duel, combining for three consecutive scoreless innings.
Regal credited the early run support for allowing him to attack the strike zone with confidence.
“Last time wasn’t my best outing, but it was just embracing that and flushing it mentally,” Regal said. “It’s a new day. Go out there and throw strikes. Graciously, my offense put up a four spot, so I was able to pitch very comfortably after that. It’s nice to have Cooper behind the plate. He usually does a really good job, so I was really happy about that.”
Both teams turned to their bullpens after quality starts, but Rochester finally created some separation in the eighth inning.
Holding a 4-1 lead, the Honkers put two runners aboard before Kruk stepped to the plate. The catcher crushed a three-run home run to right field, stretching Rochester’s advantage to 7-1.
Kruk said his previous at-bat helped him make the adjustment.
“Well, I went through the previous at-bat, and I actually broke my bat on the exact same pitch he threw me,” Kruk said. “He threw me the same pitch three times, and the last one I got a good barrel on and it flew out. It felt good. Happy to get the win.”
Brandon Fears pitched a scoreless relief innings before handing it off to Cam Grenert.
Cam would give up a two spot in the eighth inning leaving Peyton Huff to close things out in the ninth. Huff allowed a run but finished the game with a swinging strikeout to secure the victory.
Jácome said the performance reflected the standard his club expects every night.
“They just went out there and performed like they’re supposed to,” Jácome said. “Hit the ball, played defense, and we got some solid pitching out there by Ian. The rest is kind of history.”
Playing clean baseball in all three phases proved to be the difference as the Honkers remained perfect in the second half.
Rochester will look for a series sweep Thursday night when it hosts the MoonDogs at Mayo Field. First pitch is scheduled for 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.
