Honkers’ Comeback Falls Short

Rochester, MN (Rochesterhonkers.com) — The Rochester Honkers fell to the Alexandria Blue Anchors 5-4 on Sunday afternoon, with a ninth inning rally spurred by Matt Fiedler’s (Minnesota) Grand Slam falling just short.

Alexandria looked in control early, as a three-run home run off Duester in the first inning and a two-run bomb off Tyler Feyeresisen (St. Thomas) in the second had them up 5-0.

Rochester stranded a total of 10 runners on base across the first eight innings as they struggled to build any momentum to cut into the Blue Anchors lead, which lasted all the way to the ninth inning.

Withe the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth, Matt Fiedler connected for his fourth homerun of the year, but that slam wasn't enough.

Mark Contreras (UC Riverside) reached first on a dropped third strike to keep the Honkers alive, but Ryan Webberley (Cal Poly Pomona) flew out to right field, leaving the final at 5-4.

The Honkers are now 10-10 in the second half, and sit in sixth place in the North Division, 4 games back of first place St. Cloud. They still narrowly cling to a playoff spot in the overall division standings, in fourth place with just a 1.5 game lead on fifth place Waterloo.

The Honkers and Blue Anchors will play once more on Monday, July 20th, at 1:05 p.m., before heading into the All Star Break.

The 2015 NWL All Star Game will be in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. on July 21st. Starting pitcher Jayson Yano (Stevens Institute) will be the Honkers lone representative on the North Division squad. The Marshfield Home Run Contest will precede the All-Star game, with Duffin getting the nod in to represent Rochester in that one.

The Honkers will be back in Rochester on Thursday, July 23rd, to face the Eau Claire Express at 12:05 p.m. It will be Kids "3 Buck" Day presented by Perkins. Kids 12 and under will gain admission for just $3! It will also be a Novo Nordisk Home Run for Life Thursday.