Cocos Locos Hang On With An 11-8 Win Against St. Paul 

Cocos Locos De Rochester scored 10 unanswered runs after falling down 4-0 in the first to secure their third consecutive win, 11-8. The victory marks their third consecutive series win, the first time a Rochester team has done so since 2019. SS Jack Dunn paced the offense with a home run and a triple, and 2B Jackson Cluff extended his hitting streak to seven games. RHP Rico Garcia closed the door in the ninth to secure his seventh save of the season.

St. Paul jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning, led off by back-to-back walks from CF Austin Martin and RF Matt Wallner. The next batter, LF Michael Helman, doubled down the left field line to score Martin and leave two runners in scoring position with no outs. 2B Tony Kemp reached on an infield single and scored Wallner to bring the score to 2-0. Following a stolen base from Kemp, C Chris Williams scored both Helman and Kemp on a single to right field, making the lead 4-0.

Rochester struck back in the bottom of the first started when 2B Jackson Cluff smashed a triple to right field. RF Travis Blankenhorn then worked a walk and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. 1B Juan Yepez moved Blankenhorn up to third and scored Cluff on a single to left field. After a walk to CF Alex Call, that loaded with two outs for DH Carter Kieboom. A single from the Georgia native scored both Blankenhorn and Yepez, cutting the Saints lead down to one run, 4-3.

After no answer from St. Paul, Rochester tied up the contest in the bottom of the second. SS Jack Dunn crushed a line drive triple down the right field and scored from a sacrifice fly ball off the bat of LF Darren Baker. The Saints' pitching was able to escape the remainder of the inning without further damage, going into the third inning tied at 4-4.

Rochester took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Jack Dunn crushed a 403-foot solo home run to the visitors’ bullpen to bring the score to 5-4. This marks the fifth homer of the season, one shy of his career-high set in 2023.

Rochester extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth, kicked off by three walks from Travis Blankenhorn, Alex Call, and Carter Kieboom to load the bases. C Brady Lindsly scored Blankenhorn and Call with a line drive single to left field. Jack Dunn worked a walk to reload the bases, followed by a single to left field off the bat of Darren Baker that cleared the bases, making the score 10-4.

The top of the seventh inning was led off by a walk from Alex Call, who subsequently stole second base. Two batters later, Brady Lindsly singled to left field to score Call and increase the lead to 11-4 going into the top of the eighth.

The Saints began to cut into the seven-run deficit in the top of the eighth. DH Yoyner Fajardo singled to left field to start off the innings, followed by a walk from 3B Anthony Prato. A single to center field off the bat of Austin Martin scored Fajardo and advanced Prato to third base. With runners on the corners, Matt Wallner hit a 432-foot, two-run home run to center field to cut the Rochester lead down to 11-8.

RHP Thaddeus Ward took the mound first for Rochester marking his 11th start of the season. The Fort Myers native tossed for 5.0 innings and allowed four earned on seven hits, walking four and striking out seven. RHP Nash Walters entered in relief in the top of the sixth, working 2.0 scoreless innings on two hits. RHP Robert Gsellman recorded the first two outs of the eighth inning and allowed four earned on three hits, and gave the ball to LHP Tim Cate for the final out of the inning. RHP Rico Garcia struck out the side in the ninth to secure his career-high seventh save of the season.

The Diamond Pro Player of Saturday night’s contest is SS Jack Dunn. The Georgia native went 2-for-3 with a home run, triple, an RBI, a walk, and three runs scored. This is the first time in his professional career that he’s tripled and homered in the same game.

Rochester looks to set a season-high with their fourth straight win Sunday afternoon. RHP Joan Adon toes the rubber for Rochester against St. Paul’s RHP Randy Dobnak. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Find the box score attached ​​here.