ROCHESTER, MN- The Rochester Honkers (16-14) slugged their way past the Waterloo Bucks (20-11) 9-3 and 15-11 on Thursday afternoon.
GAME ONE:
The first game was a resumption of a suspended game on June 17, it resumed in the top of the third with Rochester leading 2-0, a runner at first base and one out. Keaton Presley was the runner at first and he scored on an RBI sac-fly by Josh Elvir to get the Bucks on the board.
In the top of the fifth, the Bucks grabbed a 3-2 lead on RBI singles from Dalton Hurd and Jay Schuyler.
Rochester answered immediately though in the bottom half of the fifth inning on a two-run double to left by Morgan McCullough putting the Honkers back in front 4-3. Zach Zubia hit his second homer of the game, a three-run no doubter to left and a couple batters later Michael Michalak hit a solo shot over the left field wall as the Honkers took a commanding 8-3 lead after six innings. Michalak wasn't done yet as he belted another solo homer for good measure in the top of the eighth.
The Bucks dropped the first game of the afternoon 9-3, Zachary Patterson (1-2) who replaced the original starter Anthony Ruden in the third inning suffered the loss while Manny Armendariz (1-0) spun five impressive innings out of the bullpen.
GAME TWO:
A little over 30 minutes later, a seven inning contest began with the Bucks striking first on an RBI double by Jay Schuyler and Tyler Stover followed it up with an RBI single to hand the Bucks an early 2-0 advantage in the top of the first.
The Buck lead would not last long as Nathan Walker (3-2) who lasted one third of an inning walked the bases loaded before Ryan Fitzpatrick lined a two-run single down the left field line tying the game 2-2.
Rochester added three more two-run singles from Zeke Pinkham, Michalak and Konnor Zickefoose to take a commanding 8-2 lead after a 43 minute long first inning. The score remained that way until the bottom of the fifth when Michalak added an RBI single and Johnathan Fleek homered to left but even at 11-2, the game wasn't out of reach even though it seemed like plenty of cushion for the Honkers starting pitcher Eddie Mathis (3-3).
In the top of the sixth inning Keaton Presley dropped a two-run double into the left center field gap and Jay Schuyler drove him in on a two-run blast making things interesting 11-6.
The Honkers responded with a four-spot of their own on a two-run homer by Fitzpatrick and a two-run double by Fleek.
Even back down by nine runs, the Bucks did not go down without a fight as Joe Genord led off the final inning with his sixth homer of the season. A few batters later, Presley drove in a run on a sac-fly and Schuyler put a cap on his incredible game by smacking a three run homer to left center with Waterloo now trailing 15-11 but Rochester would outlast the Bucks in a knock down drag out battle 15-11.
15 of the 18 players on both teams scored at least one run.
The Bucks and Honkers meet up again tomorrow night, June 30 for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch at Riverfront Stadium. Come out for Harry Potter night as the first 500 fans will receive a Harry Potter Time Turner and there is a post-game fireworks show.
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The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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, more than 160 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Bucks as your favorite team.