Huskies rattle off three straight wins to start the season
Duluth, Minn – The Duluth Huskies have gotten off to a hot start to the 2019 season, as they have won their first three games, each exciting in its own way.
The Huskies traveled to Thunder Bay, Ontario for their first two games of the season against the Border Cats. In game one the Huskies pulled off an incredible five-run comeback in the ninth inning to win 8-7 that started their season off with a win.
Noah Marcelo started the rally by drawing a one-out walk, which led to a Lance Ford double and a Carter Putz two-RBI single to bring in two. Ramon Enriquez kept it going with a single as Preston Hartsell followed him up with an RBI double to cut the deficit to one. Matt Hogan then tied the game up at seven with a sacrifice fly. Danny Zimmerman didn’t want extra innings, however, as he lined a double into the left-center field gap to bring home Hartsell for the go-ahead run.
Logan VanWey pitched two scoreless innings in relief to earn his first win and save of the season. The second-year Husky allowed two hits, no runs, and struck out four. Hartsell was the offensive force as he went two for four with three RBI, two runs scored, and a home run.
The Huskies continued their momentum in game two against the Border Cats as they won 10-4. Carter Putz started the scoring early when he tripled home Cody Ford for the first run of the contest, as Hartsell then brought Putz home with an RBI single. The Huskies continued their scoring efforts in the second inning as Danny Zimmerman and Aaron Greenfield were brought home on a Noah Marcelo double. Matt Hogan also singled home a run in the third inning. They continued their scoring in the sixth inning with Greenfield and Brad Norton scoring, and two more in the seventh with Hogan and Zimmerman scoring. Danny Zimmerman sealed the game with a sacrifice fly, bringing home Carter Putz for the Huskies’ tenth run of the night.
Greenfield led the Huskies with two runs scored, and an RBI with a four for five effort. Austin Smith, Evan Yedinak, and Owen Meaney combined to give up four runs on six hits and struck out eleven Border Cats.
In a near four-hour offensive showcase on Thursday, the Huskies offense remained hot as they won 17-10 in La Crosse, Wisconsin against the Loggers. Putz began the scoring once again with a three-run home run to opposite field in the first inning. The Huskies were able to get a respectable lead in the fifth inning when they brought across seven, starting with a two-run home run from Danny Zimmerman. Duluth took advantage of two Loggers errors as Dexter Swims, in his first game with the Huskies, brought home two runs on an error by the left fielder. Aaron Greenfield followed that up by scoring on a passed ball as Swims then scored shortly after that on a wild pitch. The Huskies led 12-7 at the end of the fifth.
Erik Kaiser got the win for the Huskies in relief as he allowed two earned runs and struck out four over three innings of work. Lance Ford, Ramon Enriquez, and Carter Putz led the Huskies offensively with six combined runs, five hits, seven RBI, and two walks.
The Huskies will have their home opener at Wade Stadium this Sunday at 3:05 pm against the Eau Claire Express. Don’t forget to follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more news and info.
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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 22 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 200 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.
