Honkers Drop Season Opener to Waterloo
Published on May 30, 2012 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Rochester Honkers News Release
(Rochester, MN)-- The Rochester Honkers dropped their first game of the 2012 season tonight to the Waterloo Bucks 4-2 in Waterloo, IA.
The game started out well for the Honkers scoring one run in the top of the second on a groundout from Jared Allen (Tennessee) following a Jake Ratz (Ellsworth Community College) double and another in the top of the fourth after a wild pitch to take a 2-0 lead.
The Honkers gave up the lead in the bottom of the fourth due to two Trevor Robertson (Three Rivers Community College) errors in left field, three Waterloo hits, and a hit batter by Rochester starter Chris Noble (Pikeville).
That would be the last score of the game as the Waterloo pitching staff shut down the Honker batters for the rest of the game. The Honkers had just five hits compared to the Bucks' eight.
Honkers starter Chris Noble picked up the loss after pitching 3.2 innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits. Nick Williams (Tennessee) was effective in relief with 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball and six strikeouts. Drew Merlo pitched the eighth inning and surrendered zero runs on one hit.
Waterloo reliever Zachary Pettiford (Texas A&M - Kingsville) picked up the win for the victorious Bucks after throwing 2.2 innings of shutout relief.
Highlighting the Honkers batting lineup were Jake Ratz, who went 1 for 4 with a double, and Jared Allen, who finished 1 for 4 with an RBI. Mike Lukkason (Dakota Wesleyan), Trevor Podratz (Hawai'i, and Nick Williams each picked up a hit in the loss.
Waterloo third baseman Connor McClain (Indiana State) finished 3 for 3 with an RBI in the winning effort.
The Honkers and Bucks will be back in action tomorrow night, May 31st in Rochester. Opening pitch is at 7:05 PM C.T. at Mayo Field.
Northwoods League Stories from May 30, 2012
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- Beetles Open Season with Win over Thunder Bay - Alexandria Beetles
- Bombers Drop Opener to Mallards - Battle Creek Battle Jacks
- Rox Drop Opener to Duluth - St. Cloud Rox
- Honkers Drop Season Opener to Waterloo - Rochester Honkers
- Mallards to Host Bombers at the "Duck Pond" to Open 2012 Season - Madison Mallards
- Northwoods League Season Begins Tonight - Northwoods
- Mallards Sign Ten Temporary Players for Start of Season - Madison Mallards
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