Waterloo, IA –  The Honkers grabbed three runs in the first inning, then Cameron Sewell’s two-run home run powered a 9-4 win over Waterloo to salvage game two of the series and earn a split against the Bucks Monday night. 

After scoring first Sunday afternoon, Rochester started the scoring again in game two. Sam Harry led off with a single, then moved up to third on a Jackson Glueck single. With two outs in the inning, Robert Orr drove a single to right to plate a pair to put the Honkers ahead 2-0 right away. One batter later, Seth Thompson added one more with an RBI double to score Orr and make it 3-0.

In the top of the second, Rochester grabbed two more runs thanks to a walk and a two-run home run from Cameron Sewell. It was his league-leading 11th of the year to jump the lead to 5-0. 

In the top of the fourth, the Honkers put one more marker on the board. A one-out walk was brought home by a Sewell RBI single to center to extend the lead to 6-0. 

The Rochester starter took it from there. The right-hander Riley Leatherman went four innings of scoreless baseball with four strikeouts before turning it over to the bullpen. His outing allowed the Honkers to take a big advantage and bury the Bucks early. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Waterloo scratched a run across with four walks in the inning. Chase Porter worked the bases loaded walk to put the Bucks on the board 6-1. 

The Honkers answered with three in the top of the sixth to take a six-run lead. Although Porter mashed his first home run of the year, the deficit was too large to overcome and Rochester salvaged the final game of the series to split the two-game set with Waterloo in a 9-4 win. 

With the loss, the Bucks finish the first half of the season 14-20. They dropped to 2-8 against the Honkers as well. Waterloo starts the second half on the road in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Game one against Eau Claire is set for Tuesday night 6:35 pm. Gannon Wentz gets the nod for the Bucks to take on Quinten Marsh of the Express at Carson Park.

https://northwoodsleague.com/baseball/game/?id=6063