The Duluth Huskies (25-36) snapped their 9 game losing skid with a victory over the Rochester Honkers (18-43) Tuesday night.
Much of the game between the Huskies and Honkers saw a pitching duel as the Huskies Riley Gates faced off against the Honkers Isaac Friesen.
The Honkers broke through first in the top of the 4th when Ryan Fitzpatrick led off the inning with a homerun. The Honkers added to their lead in the top of the 5th when Josh Hauser scored on a Kyle Kasser single. Those would be the only two runs allowed by the Huskies Tuesday night as their pitching buckled down and their offense scored 5 unanswered runs.
The Huskies first run came in the bottom of the 5th when Brendan McClary scored on an error by the Honkers second baseman. The Huskies then tied the game in the bottom of the 6th when Tyler Duex scored on a McClary double.
The Huskies took the lead in the bottom of the 8th when Austin Bernard hit a monster homerun scoring Daniel Amaral and Brett Milazzo. Heading into the 9th the Huskies had a 5-2 lead and that would end up being the final score.
Riley Gates got the start for the Huskies. Gates tossed 5.0 innings allowing 2 runs on 3 hits while walking 3 and striking out 6. Gates was replaced by Ian Schwickert who tossed 2.0 innings allowing 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 1. Wade Regas picked up the win for the Huskies after tossing 1.0 inning allowing 0 runs on 0 hits. Quentin Longrie pitch the 9th inning for the Huskies and picked up his team leading 5th save after allowing 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 1.
The star players for the Huskies tonight were Austin Bernard who went 1-5 with a homerun and 4 RBIs, Tyler Duex who went 2-4 with a run scored, and Riley Gates for his strong pitching performance.
The Duluth Huskies are back at home tomorrow night for Youth Sports night. Kids 12 and under, wearing a jersey, get in free with a paid adult. The game vs the Rochester Honkers starts at 6:35 with gates opening at 5:35. For more information, contact the Duluth Huskies front office at 218-786-9909 or huskies@duluthhuskies.com
