The Huskies took the Stingers to extra innings, but ultimately stumbled in the tenth.
The Duluth Huskies fought hard but fell in extra innings on Saturday night to the Willmar Stingers. Four Huskies added two hits in tonight’s game to continue the offense’s hot start to the season, but it was not enough as the Huskies lost 6-5.
Willmar scored first with two runs in the top of the first, but Duluth answered quickly. Five of the first six Husky batters scored in the first inning, including a two-run double by Trevin Esquerra (Loyola Marymount).
Andrew Stout (Liberty) got his second start for the Huskies. After allowing two runs in the first, Stout settled in, striking out the side in the fourth. Stout finished with three runs allowed and eight strikeouts in five innings.
In relief, Tyler Cassmeyer (Lindenwood) made his Huskies debut. Cassmeyer pitched two innings and allowed just one run.
But Willmar slowly made its way back into the game. The Stingers added one run in the fifth and seventh and then scoring in the eighth on three singles to tie the game. Duluth got a baserunner in both the eighth and the ninth innings but were not able to score so the game headed to extras.
In extra innings, Tyler Reichenborn (Iowa Western) led off for the Stingers with a hit by pitch. Reichenborn advanced to second on a passed ball, then stole third, and scored on a fielder’s choice by Keanu Dizor, who just beat out a potential double play ball that would have ended the inning, giving the Stingers the win.
Next, Duluth hosts the hot-hitting Kyle MacDonald (Arkansas State) and the Mankato Moondogs in a two-game series between two top-tier north division teams. First pitch will be at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday.
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The Duluth Huskies are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.duluthhuskies.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Huskies as your favorite team
