After the Honkers lost their ninth game in 10 tries on Monday, manager Trevor Hairgrove said the first step to keep the season from further crumbling was limiting early scoring.
In those nine losses, Rochester never scored first. Many times the Honkers gave up a run in the first inning.
The Honkers fixed that problem Tuesday, but they still haven't figured out the losing conundrum. Duluth defeated Rochester 10-3 on Tuesday at Mayo Field. The Huskies (14-13 second half, 29-33 overall) also topped the Honkers (9-15, 25-34) on Monday to sweep the two-game set.
Not only did Rochester keep Duluth from scoring in the first inning, but it also didn't allow a hit for three innings with Ryan Thompson, a Byron native, on the mound.
While Thompson and the Honkers held back the Duluth offense, Zach Zubia (Texas) went to work. He hit a solo home run for the Honkers in the top of the fourth. It was his 20th of the season, a Rochester record. It also tied the Northwoods League record for single-season home runs.
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Duluth ended the no-hitter in the fourth, taking a 2-1 lead along the way. But Rochester's Kenyon Yovan (Oregon) answered with a two-run home run to give the Honkers a 3-2 lead heading into the fifth.
The Huskies finally got to Thompson in the fifth. He exited the game after he gave up an RBI-double that scored two runners. Duluth scored another run before the fifth inning ended to take a 6-3 lead.
Gabe Knowles hit a solo home run in the ninth to lock up the victory.
With the loss, Thompson falls to 1-5 on the season. His only win came in the opener on May 30 against Mankato.
