August 10, 2007

Honkers still have chance to finish above .500

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN report

The Rochester Honkers won't make the Northwoods League playoffs, but suddenly they're in position to avoid finishing the season with a losing record.

The Honkers notched their fourth straight win Thursday night 3-2 over the La Crosse Loggers before a crowd of 1,901 at Mayo Field.

Rochester matched its second-longest winning streak of the season and improved to 13-16 in the North Division second half standings. The Honkers are 31-32 overall with three games remaining.

The .500 mark is significant because Rochester has only had three losing seasons in its first 13 years. The last time was 2002 when the team finished 31-32.

Three Rochester pitchers combined for a three-hitter against La Crosse. Starter Craig Fritsch (Baylor) had 10 strikeouts and allowed two hits and two earned runs in six innings for the win. His record is 5-1.

Ryan Kussmaul (Madison Area Tech) pitched two innings of scoreless relief, and Mike Morrison (Cal State Fullerton) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save.

La Crosse took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run homer by catcher Matt Lenski.

The Honkers scored single runs in the third, fifth and sixth. Aaron Senne (Missouri) had an RBI ground-out in the third and a run-scoring single in the fifth.

Joe Southers (Kansas) delivered his fourth game-winning RBI in the last nine games with an RBI single in the sixth.

NOTES: Rochester's last three games are against the Loggers. Tonight and Saturday night are at La Crosse. The Honkers close the regular season at 3:05 p.m. Sunday at home. ... The Honkers have 55 home runs which ties the team record. The league record is 59, established in 1997 by the St. Cloud RiverBats.