August 13, 2007
Honkers end 2007 season on winning note
By Donny Henn
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
When it comes to hitting home runs, late is always better than never.
Rochester Honkers outfielder Craig Lutes waited until his final at-bat in the last game of the regular season to join the team's record-setting home run parade, with a prodigious three-run blast in a 6-3 win over the La Crosse Loggers Sunday at Mayo Field.
Lutes brought the matinee crowd of 1,400 to its feet in the bottom of the seventh inning, with a no-doubt-about-it game-breaking home run high into the trees behind the right field fence.
Rochester finished the season with 32-34 record, going 14-18 in the second half. La Crosse, which had even more player turnover than Rochester, finished 27-41.
"Finally," said Lutes, whose first home run of the season was also the Honkers' 56th, a new single-season team record. Rochester finished three homers off the all-time league record.
"The guys have giving me a hard time all season about not hitting a homer, and I told 'em that today was going to be the day," said Lutes, a freshman outfielder from the University of Illinois.
Lutes was a reliable outfielder and played in 58 games for the Honkers, but he struggled at the plate with a .190 batting average. He went out with a bang, though, going 2-for-4 with a double, homer and four RBIs.
"It was a tough season; my numbers weren't where you'd want them," Lutes admitted. "But I feel I got better as a hitter as the season progressed."
Lutes had one of Rochester's three run-scoring doubles in the first inning. Aaron Senne and Brett Featherston had the others as the Honkers bolted to a 3-0 lead.
Rochester starting pitcher Zach Robertson (Iowa Central C.C.) pitched 6 2/3 innings of scoreless ball and allowed only one hit. He finished with a 6-4 record. Mike Morrison (Cal State Fullerton) went the last 2 1/3 for his sixth save.
SATURDAY: A huge crowd of 3,645 at Copeland Park in La Crosse watched the Loggers close their home schedule with a 4-2 win over the Honkers. Rochester batters managed only four hits struck out 10 times against four Loggers pitchers.
La Crosse had a 4-0 lead until the Honkers scored twice in the eight inning. Joe Southers delivered a two-run double, scoring Derek Norris and Brett Featherston. Southers went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Eric Gruhlke was 2-4.
AWARDS: Outfielder Drew Hoisington and starting pitcher Greg Martin were named 2007 Post-Season League All-Stars. Hoisington (Toledo) led Rochester in virtually every offensive category including batting average (.290), runs (37) and RBIs (41), and shared the league lead in homers (9) with teammate Aaron Senne.
Martin (UNC-Greensboro) was 8-2 in 11 starts with a 2.09 ERA. He led the team in wins and innings pitched (73.3).
Hoisington was also named Honker of the Year, and Martin was named the team's Pitcher of the Year.
Robertson was named the Honkers' Most Inspirational Player. He spent the last month driving back-and-forth to his home in Iowa to visit his younger sister in the hospital. She underwent a heart transplant two years ago and has been prone to illness and lengthy hospital stays.
NOTES: The Honkers drew 45,001 fans over 32 home dates for a season average of 1,406, just below last year's franchise record numbers of 49,264 total and 1,449 per game. It snaps a streak of five straight years of increased attendance.
LOGGERS 4, HONKERS 2
(Saturday)
ROCHESTER (2) LA CROSSE (4)
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Hoisington cf 4 0 0 0 Lucian cf 3 1 1 1
Norris rf 3 1 0 0 Toole 3b 4 0 0 0
Feathrstn 1b 3 1 0 0 Thames lf 3 2 3 1
Southers c 3 0 2 2 Coleman c 4 0 3 1
Lutes lf 4 0 0 0 Carroll 1b 4 0 1 0
Gruhlke ss 4 0 2 0 Bowman rf 3 0 0 0
Radmachr 3b 4 0 0 0 Hanzawa ss 4 0 1 0
Spaeth 2b 3 0 0 0 Schultz 2b 2 0 0 1
Morrison dh 3 0 0 0 Chmura dh 3 1 0 0
Totals 31 2 4 2 Totals 30 4 9 4
Honkers 000 000 020 -- 2 4 0
Loggers 002 001 10X -- 4 9 1
E -- LAC, Hanzawa. LOB -- ROC 7, LAC 9. 2B -- ROC, Southers; LAC, Lucian, Thames, Carroll. SB -- LAC, Thames, Hanzawa. HBP -- ROC, Norris. SF -- LAC, Thames.
IP H R ER BB SO
Rochester
Hill L,1-4 5 4 2 2 3 4
Kussmaul 2 4 2 2 2 4
Scott 1 1 0 0 1 1
La Crosse
Kapteyn W,1-0 6 2 0 0 3 6
Bjerke 1 0 0 0 0 1
Hebert 1 1 2 2 1 1
Erdall S,14 1 1 0 0 0 2
Time -- 2:49. Attendance -- 3,645.
HONKERS 6, LOGGERS 3
(Sunday)
LA CROSSE (3) ROCHESTER (6)
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Lucian 3b 4 0 1 0 Hoisington cf 4 1 1 0
Toole 2b 3 0 0 0 Senne rf 4 1 2 1
Schultz 2b 1 0 0 0 Southers c 3 1 0 0
Thames lf 4 1 1 0 Feathrstn 1b 3 2 1 1
Coleman 1b 3 0 1 0 Lutes lf 4 1 2 4
Carroll rf 4 0 0 0 Norris dh 4 0 0 0
Bowman dh 4 1 2 2 Gruhlke ss 4 0 2 0
Bartz cf 3 0 1 0 Radmachr 3b 3 0 1 0
Chmura c 2 1 0 0 Spaeth 2b 4 0 1 0
Lenski ph/c 2 0 1 0
Hanzawa ss 3 0 0 0
Totals 33 3 7 2 Totals 33 6 10 6
Loggers 001 000 011 -- 3 7 0
Honkers 300 000 30x -- 6 10 1
E -- ROC, Gruhlke. DP -- ROC 2. LOB -- LAC 5 ROC 6. 2B -- ROC, Senne 2, Featherston, Lutes. HR -- LAC, Bowman; ROC, Lutes. SB -- ROC, Coleman, Hoisington. CS -- ROC, Radmacher.
IP H R ER BB SO
La Crosse
Johnson L,0-2 6 9 3 3 1 3
Buhr 2/3 1 3 3 2 1
Jirska 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2
Rochester
Robertson W,6-4 6 2/3 1 1 1 2 6
Morrison S,6 2 1/3 6 2 2 0 5
Time -- 2:36. Attendance -- 1,400.