ROCHESTER, Minn. – A monster offensive performance powered the Eau Claire Express to a 15-5 victory over the Rochester Honkers on Saturday night, moving Eau Claire into first place in the Great Plains East Division.
The Express wasted little time setting the tone.
Alex Kronfeld got the start for Rochester despite not being a regular member of the starting rotation. After recording an early groundout, a walk to CJ Varsho put the speedy center fielder aboard. A pair of singles followed, giving Eau Claire an early 1-0 lead.
Sawyer Hoffman made his third appearance of the season on the mound for the Express and kept Rochester’s offense in check through the first two innings.
The Honkers finally broke through in the bottom of the third. After doubling in his first at-bat, Angel Santiago stepped to the plate and launched a solo home run to left field, tying the game at 1-1.
The tie didn’t last long.
The top of the fourth was the turning point of the game. Landon Ubrig opened the inning by sending the first pitch he saw from Kronfeld over the fence, the first of six Express home runs on the night.
“Yeah, just staying simple, sticking to my approach,” Ubrig said. “Especially the second home run, he made a couple good pitches, but I knew he would come back in the zone, and I could find a way to get the ball in the air. Just sticking to my approach and not getting out early.”
Eau Claire continued its offensive surge with four more hits and two walks, plating five runs in the inning to take a commanding 6-1 lead.
Rochester answered in the bottom half of the inning. Cooper Kruk led off with a single before recent addition Jacob Neutz crushed a two-run home run to deep right field, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
Trent Adrian entered in relief for the fifth inning. Although he issued four walks, the Honkers limited the damage to just one run by recording three consecutive outs.
The home run barrage continued in the bottom of the fifth as Matt Maize led off the inning with a solo blast. Singles from Santiago and Kruk helped Rochester score another run, trimming the deficit to 7-5.
That would be as close as the Honkers would get.
Eau Claire added a run in the sixth before putting the game out of reach in the seventh. The Express launched four home runs in the inning, including a two-run shot, to blow the game wide open.
Express field manager Dale Varsho credited his hitters for taking advantage of favorable counts.
“Good counts to hit in. I mean, with Landon hitting two, with Marty hitting one. We just had some really good pitches to hit, but it all started with getting into good counts.”
Eau Claire continued to add on over the final two innings, while Rochester managed two late runs, as the Express rolled to a 15-5 win in the opener of the home-and-home series.
The Honkers return to Mayo Field on Tuesday night to host the Thunder Bay Border Cats. 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.
