New Honkers Face Down Mankato
June 15, 2021 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Rochester Honkers News Release
After a four-day break in the schedule, the Honkers were back in action and the win column, defeating Mankato 4-3. Rochester's lineup featured eight players making their team debuts, and the fresh faces did not disappoint.
The game began a pitcher's duel between Brendan Knoll (Minnesota St, Mankato) and Jonathan Clark. (San Jose St.) Both offenses were held off the scoreboard through the first three innings, before Adam Fogel (Hawaii) broke the tie with a booming home run to left center in the fourth. The lead would not hold for long, however, JJ Cruz (Cal St. Fullerton) set the table in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff single, and Hank Bard (McLennan) gave the Honkers their first lead on a two-run homer to right center that bounced high off the Mayo Field scoreboard.
The Honkers held the lead until the seventh, when a Dustin Demeter (Hawaii) double tied the ballgame scoring Evan Berkey (Cal St Bakersfield) from first. Three batters later, Demeter would score on a passed ball to give the Moondogs the lead back.
Rochester's two-run rally in the bottom of the inning proved to be the difference in the series opener. A Zack Raabe (Minnesota) single followed by a Mac Horvath (North Carolina) double put runners on second and third with one out. Jason Swan (Georgia Southern) tied the game with a sac fly and J.J. Cruz laced a clutch go-ahead single to give the Honkers the lead for good.
Jay Thompson (Georgia Southern) shut the door for the Rochester, tossing two scoreless innings and earning the save. Patrick Williams (Lipscomb) was the winning pitcher of record, with Marcus Krupke (Bethel) stranding a runner his 0.2 of work. All told, the Honkers bullpen combined for 3.2 innings of one-run ball.
Brendan Knoll pitched well in recording a no-decision, 5.1 innings, three hits, an earned run, and five strikeouts.
The win sees the Honkers' record improve to 5-6 on the season and creates an opportunity for a series sweep. Rochester hosts Mankato at 6:35 tomorrow night from Mayo Field.
Northwoods League Stories from June 15, 2021
- 8th Inning Surge Puts Away Huskies - Duluth Huskies
- Kingfish Complete Two-Game Sweep against Kalamazoo - Kenosha Kingfish
- Rox Fall to Waterloo, Finish Homestand with Five Wins - St. Cloud Rox
- Woodchucks Rue Missed Chances in Loss - Wausau Woodchucks
- Booyah Sweep Jackrabbits - Green Bay Rockers
- Bombers Late Rally Not Enough in 5-3 Loss to Rockford - Battle Creek Battle Jacks
- Booyah Look to Sweep Inter-Division Opponent - Green Bay Rockers
- La Crosse Rolls over Wilmar with 9-5 Victory - La Crosse Loggers
- Dock Spiders Look to Sweep Series on Tuesday - Fond du Lac Dock Spiders
- Growlers Comeback Falls Short in 13-11 Loss to Kingfish - Kalamazoo Growlers
- New Honkers Face Down Mankato - Rochester Honkers
- Larks Derail Express in Shutout Victory - Bismarck Larks
- MoonDogs Fall Short in One-Run Loss to Honkers - Mankato MoonDogs
- Rivets Split Doubleheader with Battle Creek - Rockford Rivets
- Bombers Split Double Header against Rockford - Battle Creek Battle Jacks
- Chinooks hot streak continues in 5-1 victory - Lakeshore Chinooks
- Rox Drop One Late, Remain in First Place - St. Cloud Rox
- Stingers Fall in Series Opener to La Crosse - Willmar Stingers
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Other Recent Rochester Honkers Stories
- Honkers Drop First Game in Duluth as Huskies Roll 12-2
- Thunder Bay Wins an Extra Inning Thriller at Mayo Field 5-4
- Honkers Succumb to Late Thunder Bay Rally as They Fall, 15-7
- La Crosse Puts on an Offensive Show En Route to a 14-5 Win
- Rochester Drops Another Mayo Field Heartbreaker, 8-5
