Honkers Stung by Willmar 16-9
July 8, 2012 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Rochester Honkers News Release
(Rochester, MN) - The Rochester Honkers suffered through a grueling 16-9 loss on Sunday afternoon to the Willmar Stingers in front of 1,015 Mayo Field fans in Rochester, MN.
The Stingers offense poured it on early in this one, busting out with two runs in the first, two in the second, and three in the third.
The Stingers lineup combined for three long balls and 20 total hits, including four players with three knocks apiece, and one with four.
Willmar shortstop Hunter Dozier (Stephen F. Austin) connected for two of the homeruns and drove in three runs for the victors.
Rochester starter Kevin Johnson (Illinois) labored through his 4.2 innings of work, giving up eight earned runs on ten Willmar hits and five walks. With the loss, Johnson now moves to 0-2 for the summer.
After falling behind 10-3, the Honkers would slowly creep closer, but the Stingers' bats would not back down and continued to push runs across the plate with two in the seventh and three in the eighth.
The Honkers had a four-run sixth inning and batted through the lineup thanks to two Willmar errors and four Rochester hits, and a two-run homerun off the bat of outfielder Ben Lahn (Lamar CC) in the bottom of the eighth made it 15-9 in favor of the visiting Stingers, but it was too little too late.
Lahn finished his day 2 for 5 at the plate with two RBIs.
Second baseman Reid Roper (Illinois) had a productive day with the lumber in the Rochester loss going 3 for 4 with a solo homerun, a double, and three RBIs. Cole Lankford (Texas A&M) collected a single and a double before leaving the game in the seventh inning after fouling a ball hard off his foot.
Willmar reliever Andre Wheeler (Texas Tech) picked up the win and is now 3-1.
The series is now tied at 1-1.
The finale of the three-game set between the Honkers (2-2, 17-22) and Stingers (2-2, 22-17) is tomorrow, July 9th, at 7:05 PM in Rochester, MN. Lefty Jared Miller (Vanderbilt) will take the mound for the Honkers against Willmar righty Kyle Fischer (St. Cloud State). Miller is 2-0 this summer with a miniscule 1.06 ERA in three starts. Fischer is also 2-0, but in six appearances and with a 5.16 ERA.
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