Duluth pulls away late to win on the road
For the second straight game, the Duluth Huskies (26-12, 2-0) pitching staff held the St. Cloud Rox (16-22, 0-2) offense to just one run, coasting to an 8-1 win on Thursday night.
Duluth starting pitcher Jack Corbell (Miami Ohio) got the win, tossing seven scoreless innings in his first start of the season, allowing only three hits while striking out six opposing batters without issuing a walk.
It was the second straight game that the Duluth pitching staff did not issue a walk throughout the entire contest and third time all season. As one might guess, they are 3-0 in those games.
Duluth got on the board against the St. Cloud starting pitcher Jack Cushing (Georgetown) in the second inning when Chris Gilbody (Georgetown College) scored on a wild pitch after a lead-off double.
In the third, Kyle Jacobsen (South Carolina) launched his team-high third homerun of the season to double the Duluth lead.
The Huskies struck again two innings later as Augie Isaacson (Friends University) drove in the third run to make it 3-0. Isaacson finished 2-5 with an RBI and run scored.
Duluth made it 4-0 in the sixth after an error by the Rox defense allowed Gilbody to score. The Huskies catcher finished 3-4 with a double and two runs scored.
The lone St. Cloud run came across in the eighth inning against Huskies relief pitcher Kieran Shaw (Harvard). Connor Aube (Texas Arlington) scored on a Shaw wild pitch to make it 4-1 before Duluth blew the game open in the ninth.
In the final frame, the Huskies offense batted around and scored four runs to make it 8-1. The inning was highlighted by a two RBI double by Nick Sogard (Loyola Marymount).
In the bottom half of the inning, Parker Hanson (Minnesota-Crookston) took over on the mound to cap off a terrific performance from the Duluth pitching staff as he sent down the Rox quietly in the inning.
With the win, the Huskies move into first place in the North Division overall standings and the second half standings with a 26-12 record. St. Cloud falls to 16-22 on the year.
The Huskies continue to dominate when scoring in bunches, as they improve to 22-2 when they score five or more runs and 17-5 in games in which they score first.
Duluth is back tomorrow as they take on the Rochester Honkers on the road for the first of a two game series in Rochester. You can listen to all the action of the 7:05 p.m. game live on 92.1 The Fan in and around Duluth.
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The Duluth Huskies are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in 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