Huskies go 5-3 in 10th week
Duluth, Minn — The Duluth Huskies currently own the top spot in the Great Plains East division with a 2nd half record of 30-33. After dropping two straight to Thunder Bay and Waterloo last Friday and Saturday, they took the next 3 games from the Bucks including a doubleheader on Monday before splitting with La Crosse over the next two days. And in the final game of the week against Eau Claire last night, the Huskies won 9-1 to go 5-3 in week ten.
Last Friday the Border Cats defeated the Huskies 7-3 to salvage a series split. Thunder Bay’s starter Austin Eggleston threw 5.2 innings and limited Duluth to 2 runs while the Border Cats’ batting order went to work in the middle innings. They scored four runs over the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings and two more in the 8th to keep their lead out of reach. Free bases came easily for Thunder Bay with 10 walks being drawn as well as 5 committed errors by the Huskies. Starting pitcher Schuyler Hill even threw 5 innings and gave up 3 runs, but none of them ended up being earned. But Channy Ortiz was the bright spot in the game as he went 2-3 with an RBI and a walk which sparked an 8-game hit streak for the shortstop.
The next day the Huskies traveled to Waterloo for a four-game series with the Bucks which included a double-header. In game one Waterloo used a high-octane offense powered by Kyler Arenado, Troy Jenkins, and Patrick Ferguson to win 14-7. They scored 5 in the 3rd and 7 more in the 5th to stay ahead of Duluth, who’s pitchers struggled to keep men off the bases. Austin Smith gave up 7 runs (3 earned) and walked 8 batters in 2.1 innings while Dennis Boatman walked 8 and surrendered 7 runs on 6 hits in his appearance. Ultimately Waterloo ended up totaling 13 hits to go along with 17 total walks in the near 4-hour ballgame. Channy Ortiz and Max Guzman provided the brunt of offense for Duluth as they combined for 4 hits and 4 RBI’s.
Fortunately the Huskies bounced back to win the next 3 against Waterloo, starting with an 8-4 win on Sunday. This time Duluth had the big inning when in the 4th, back to back solo shots from Kyle Jacobsen and Alex Tappen along with three more runs scored by Danny Zimmerman, Max Guzman, and Matt Hogan. Ricky Reynoso and Owen Meaney suppressed the Bucks’ offense as much as possible as they combined to give up only 4 runs on 8 hits over 9 innings. Jack Parkinson, who gave up 6 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits took the loss for Waterloo.
And then in the doubleheader on Monday, Duluth took both games by scores of 10-7 and 6-2. Game one was interesting as Waterloo looked to be in control with a 6-0 lead in the 3rd inning, but then Duluth scored 9 over the next three innings to take the lead away from the Bucks. Niko Lima and Channy Ortiz combined to bat in 4 men and logged 4 hits. Meanwhile the first four men in Duluth’s order all had two hits, and all scored at least one run. Game two was much more fast paced as the teams only scored in four half innings. The Huskies struck first in the 4th inning with a four spot and never looked back. Keaton Carattini got his first start of the summer and allowed one run over 4 innings while three relievers combined to give up only one other run the next five innings in the 6-2 win. Once again Channy Ortiz was the main source of the runs scored, as had a part in half of the Huskies’ runs either coming by RBI or runs.
Then a crucial two-game series against the Loggers kicked off the next day at The Wade. A pitching clinic was the only way to describe this game, as Travis Booth and Mark Sellers combined to shove 6 scoreless innings of baseball. Both men only gave up one run as they departed the game with a no-decision. La Crosse was the team to find some momentum late as they scored single runs in the 8th and 9th to win 2-1. Duluth’s lone run came from Matt Hogan who doubled home Niko Lima in the 7thHunter Watson and Bo Xi Hsiao were the men who batted in the Loggers’ runs.
On Wednesday night the Huskies got back on track with an 11-5 win over the Loggers. The score was 10-0 Duluth entering the 7th inning when La Crosse attempted to mount a comeback, putting up 5 runs off of Dennis Boatman. The Huskies remained unphased though, putting up another run after the break on a Greenfield single for their 11th run. Duluth’s offense was on point all night long as only one man in the batting order didn’t have a hit. Aaron Greenfield led the team with 3 hits and a couple of RBI’s while Alex Tappen and Max Guzman both blasted three-run home runs in back to back innings. Colton Williams also threw 6 scoreless innings in his 2nd start as a Husky.
Multi-run innings brought the Huskies another win against Eau Claire last night. A 5th run 3rd inning was all Duluth needed as they won 9-1 behind a consistent offense and some stellar pitching. A bases-clearing double from Noah Marcelo in the 3rd inning essentially broke the game open, as the Huskies held a 6-1 lead after that. Brock Mosier and Austin Smith combined to throw 5.2 innings and gave up just one run and only three hits. Joey Zwak had a great debut game as he logged two hits and scored three run while Max Guzman and Alex Tappen combined for 5 RBI’s.
The Huskies look to take a commanding lead in the division tonight against the Express. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm with live game coverage on 92.1 The Fan and twinportssportshub.com beginning at 6:25 pm. All Duluth Huskies and Northwoods League games are live streamed online at portal.stretchlive.com/nwl to watch.
Be sure to follow the Duluth Huskies on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat all season long. Check out duluthhuskies.com for tickets to upcoming games. For more in-depth news on the Huskies, be sure to follow @XtraInningsWithRyne and @JoeChatzHuskies on Facebook.
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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 26th 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.
