Honkers Drop Final Game of the Year 6-5 in 10 Innings.

LA CROSSE, WIS. -- The Honkers fought to pull out a late comeback victory versus the La Crosse Loggers but they came up just short in a 6-5 loss to end the season.

Cameron Aufderheide (2-1), had a good start, going six innings, giving up two runs on five hits, three walks, and striking out four.

Aufderheide allowed both runs in the second. The first came when Lars Nootbaar scored on a wild pitch, and the second came on Gavin Johns' sacrifice fly that allowed Cesar Salazar to score, making it a 2-0 game.

The Honkers cut the lead in half in the sixth after two straight reached forcing La Crosse to take Taylor Blatch out of the game and bring in reliever Brock Rude. Rude retired two straight but gave up an RBI single to Cole Heavilin to make it 2-1.

On the day, Blatch went five innings, giving up four hits and one run with four walks and four strikeouts.

However that lead was lengthened to four as David Messer gave up three runs, two earned in the bottom of the seventh, and eighth. Cullen Large came up in the seventh, with two on and drove in Mason McCoy to make it 3-1, then Grant Fennell followed him with an infield single to score Griffin Conine and make it 4-1.

In the top of the eighth the Honkers made it 4-2 thanks to Joey Czarske's long ball but the Loggers quickly responded with one of their own when Justin Wylie scored an unearned run on Kyle Plantier's double to center to make it a 5-2 game.

In the top of the ninth the Honkers tried to create some final game magic.

With two outs in the inning, Kyle Kasser kept the season alive with a single to right, then Ryan Fitzpatrick followed with a single to left. Casey Worden then came up and on a 2-2 pitch, smashed a game-tying blast to make it 5-5 and force extras.

However that would be it for the Honkers offense, and the Honkers, as in the tenth Randy Labaut hit a walk off single to center to end the game at 6-5 and end the Honkers season.

On the year the Honkers finished with a 20-52 overall, going 13-24 in the second half after a 7-28 first half. With the loss the Honkers became the team with the worst overall record in the Northwoods League, as they finished a game behind the Thunder Bay Border Cats.