A number of players and coaches on the Rochester Honkers got a new baseball experience on Monday. The squad played a home game against the Waterloo Bucks in the afternoon and then boarded a bus to Iowa to play a night game in Waterloo.
The Honkers started the day on a high note with an 8-4 matinee win over Waterloo in front of 1,328 fans at Mayo Field. A rally by Rochester (20-14) fell short in the nightcap as Waterloo held on for a 10-8 win.
The doubleheader came on the final day of the first half of the season. The second half begins today. Willmar had already clinched a Northern Division title, but the overall record is still a huge factor for the Honkers.
"We're not worried too much about it," Honkers outfielder Cole Krzmarzick said of missing out on the first-half title. "We're just trying to go out and win every game possible."
Honkers manager Trevor Hairgrove agreed.
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"Every game matters now," he said, "because the two division winners in each half advance (to the playoffs) and so do the next two teams with the best overall records."
The Honkers topped Waterloo in Rochester as Dempsey Grover and Krzmarzick both hit two-run doubles in the first two innings as the team jumped to a quick 5-0 lead. Krzmarzick added a sac fly to finish with three RBIs.
"We haven't scored early like that too often," Krzmarzick said. "It definitely helps the starters and the bullpen."
Jordan Gross (2-1) collected the win as the left-hander allowed one run on three hits over six innings. Matt Fielder provided a pair of late insurance runs, with the score 6-4, clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
"It felt pretty good because it was my first one," Fielder said. "Hopefully I'll hit some more."
The Honkers also made a half-dozen stellar defensive plays, most behind Gross. William Paschal made a trio of stellar plays at third, Ryan Summers caught two sinking liners in left and Krzmarzick had a leaping, tumbling grab in right. The Honkers also banged out 10 hits.
"They were hitting it hard and they were making plays for Gross," Hairgrove said.
The Honkers won and then managed to sign some autographs for their young fans before quickly departing to Waterloo.
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"It's going to be hard to sit on that bus for an hour, hour and a half," Fielder said. "But the team is pretty loose and we have fun out there."
"I'm not sure, I've never done it before," Krzmarzick said of the day-night, home-road doubleheader.
"I'm sure we can handle it," he added. "We've got plenty of fresh guys."
One fresh player is Paschal. The third baseman was with the Honkers as a temporary player and then released. But he has resigned with the club and was playing Monday. He had a hit and made a big impact in the field.
Fielder said the mental aspect was probably tougher in regards to playing in two cities on the same day.
"It's not that long of a bus ride," he said.
Loss in Waterloo
In the nightcap, the Bucks roughed up Honkers starter Greg Jakusik for three runs in the first inning and seven more in the second for an early 10-0 lead.
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The Honkers relievers would not yield another run. Rochester scored four runs in both the seventh and eighth innings. The Honkers then loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Frank Rubio got a ground-ball double play to escape the jam and earn the save.
Sam Hall went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Honkers while Ryan Summers, Miles Mastrobuoni and Adam Walton all had two hits. Mastrobuoni, Summers and Paschal all drove in two runs.
The Honkers will return to Mayo Field for the first of three straight games starting today.
Honkers 8, Bucks 4
First game
Waterloo #001#000#300#—#4#10#4
Rochester #321#000#02x#—#8#10#0
Waterloo Bucks: Luke Stratman 2-for-4, 1 R; Mikal Hill 2-for-5; Zack Soria 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Taylor Lane 1-for-4, 1 RBI; Zach McKinstry 2-for-4; Taylor Boyd 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI. Pitchers: Doug Hayes (L,1-2) 2/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K; Sean Trimble 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K; Ryan McCourt 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
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Rochester Honkers: Alex Schultz 0-for-3, 1 R; Matt Fiedler 2-for-4, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI; Adam Walton 2-for-5, 1 R; Cole Krzmarzick 1-for-3, 1 2B; 3 RBI; Ryan Summers 0-for-4, 1 R; Dempsey Grover 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI; Ryan Webberley 2-for-3, 1 R; William Paschal 1-for-4, 1 R; Miles Mastrobouni 1-for-3, 1 R. Pitchers: Jordan Gross (W,2-1) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K; Wyatt Shackleford 1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K; Chad Czaplewski 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K; Rick Delgado 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.
LOB: Waterloo 7, Rochester 8. Time: 2:38. Attendance: 1,328.
Bucks 10, Honkers 8
Second game
Rochester#000#000#440#—#8#11#3
Waterloo#370#000#00x#—#10#12#4
Rochester Honkers: Miles Mastrobouni 2-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI; Adam Walton 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 R; Cole Krzmarzick 1-for-5, 1 R; Sam Hall 3-for-4, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI; Ryan Summers 2-for-5, 1 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; William Paschal 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI. Pitchers: Greg Jakusik (L) 1 2/3 IP, 6 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 1 K; Matt Walker 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; Ryan Boelter 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K; Spencer Greer 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Waterloo Bucks: Luke Stratman 3-for-5, 1 R; Ryan Nagle 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI; Mikal Hill 1-for-5, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI; Zack Soria 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI; Tyler Selesky 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI; Zach McKinstry 2-for-3, 1 3B, 1 R, 3 RBI; Matthew James 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI. Pitchers: Brian Drapeau (W) 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K; Martinson 2/3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; Babb 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K; Naso Jr. 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K; Ribio (S) 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
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LOB: Rochester 10, Waterloo 9. Time: 3:17. Attendance: 971.
