The Duluth Huskies (13-15) beat the Mankato MoonDogs (17-11) Tuesday night.
The Mankato MoonDogs have had the Huskies number all season winning the first 5 meetings between the two teams, but tonight the Duluth Huskies battled throughout the game and picked up the win.
The Huskies fell behind early when the MoonDogs scored in the bottom of the 1st inning, but the Huskies struck back in the top of the 2nd with a leadoff homerun by Dillion Paulson, his first of the season. The Huskies then went on to take the lead in the top of the 3rd when Brendan McClary scored on an RBI ground out by Austin Bernard. The lead would not last long however as the MoonDogs score 2 in the bottom on the 3rd and 1 in the bottom of the 4th. The Huskies were able to get a run across in the top of the 6th when Mitch Reeves scored on an RBI double by Reid Long. The MoonDogs would answer scoring in the bottom of the 6th to make the score 5-3 Mankato. The Huskies tied the game in the top of the 7th when McClary and Liam Sabino scored on RBI singles by Sabino and Paulson respectively. The Huskies had a chance to score in the top of the 11th when Carter Hanford and Long both reached by way of singles, but the next three Huskies batters were retired in order. The Huskies finally broke through in the top of the 12th when Bernard who had singled to lead off the inning and was bunted over to second by Sabino scored on a wild pitch and throwing error by the catcher.
David Kroger got the start for the Huskies and pitched 3.0 innings allowing 3 runs on 3 hits walking 3 and striking out 2. He was replaced by Jesse Fruge who pitched 5.0 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits walking 4 and striking out 1. Nate Hadley then entered the game and pitched 2.0 innings allowing no run on no hits walking 1 and striking out 2. Wade Regas came in to get the win for the Huskies. He pitched 2.0 innings allowing 0 runs on 2 hits striking out 1.
The stars of the game for the Huskies were Dillion Paulson who went 2-4 including a homerun, 2 walks, 1 run scored, and 2RBIs; Reid Long who went 3-5 including a double and an RBI; and Austin Bernard who went 2-6 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI.
The Huskies return home tomorrow to face off against the Thunder Bay Boarder Cats in a double header. The first game starts at noon, with the gates opening at 11. The first game is Senior Day at the ballpark where all fans 60 and over receive $4 admission and a free seat cushion from Hearing Associates. The second game starts at 6:35 and the Huskies will be celebrating Mascot Olympics. Local mascots will be in attendance and participate in the in-between inning games. This event is being sponsored by Grandma’s Marathon. For more information, contact the Duluth Huskies front office at 218-786-9909 or huskies@duluthhuskies.com
