The Duluth Huskies’ offense dominated Thunder Bay’s pitching as they won 10-6. The Huskies scored in five of the nine innings of the game, while the Border Cats scored in the first four innings, but the Huskies’ bullpen shut them out for the last five.
The Border Cats came out swinging in the bottom of the first as they were the “home” team tonight. Three hits in a row resulted in their first run of the game. The next three innings displayed Thunder Bay’s strong offense as well. A walk, two wild pitches, and a single resulted in another run for the Border Cats in the bottom of the second. They put up two more in the bottom of the third on two hits and one costly error by the shortstop. The Border Cats would put up their last two runs in the fourth on three hits, with some assistance from the Huskies pitching that balked runners to gain free bases. Thunder Bay had a strong first four innings, but would only be able to get two more hits throughout the rest of the ball game, as the Huskies pitching settled in.
It took some time for the Huskies offense to string things together, but it would definitely come alive for them in the top of the fifth inning. They put up four runs on four hits, and taking advantage of an error by the Thunder Cats’ catcher. The inning got out of hand from the very beginning as the Huskies drew a walk, then hit three straight singles to put the pressure on the opposition. The pressure got to the pitcher, as a couple wild pitches moved the runners around as well. Then, after a pitching change, the Huskies got one more hit that drove in their last run of the inning, before the last two outs were made.
The Huskies’ offense kept the momentum going in the top of the sixth inning, scoring two more runs on one hit. They showed some patience at the plate, getting runners on, and stealing bags in order to manufacture the two runs of the inning. The eighth and ninth were insurance innings for Duluth, scoring one more run in the eighth and another two in the ninth. They score two runs on three singles and two walks.
Ryan Losman started on the bump for the Huskies, chucking four innings, giving up six runs (five earned), on nine hits, and walking two. The bullpen was absolutely phenomenal, as they allowed zero runs on only two hits in the last five innings of the game. Viney, Gonrowski, and Yancey answered the call to the bullpen, and undoubtedly rose to the occasion. Augie Isaacson had a great night at the plate, going 3-4 with one walk on the day. Isaac Collins and Brett Milazzo led the team with RBIs, both with two.
Ricardo Garcia started on the mound for the Thunder Cats, going four and one-third innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on six hits and walking three. Bogacz and O’brien relieved him, but the Huskies’ offense was too strong throughout the entire game, as their bullpen gave up five runs. JQ Folena stood out at the plate for them, going 3-5 with one RBI.
It was a beautiful night for baseball in Northern Minnesota. It was a different game environment, having the Huskies playing as the away team on their own field, but they played to please their hometown crowd rightfully.
The Huskies now have a record of 6-3 on the season, and are in second in the division standings. They are back in action as the road team tomorrow that takes place at Wade Municipal Stadium, with the game scheduled for 12:00pm. Doors open at 11:00 a.m. for the game. Come out and cheer on your Huskies!
