Breathtaking final innings favor the Loggers in Saturday night’s loss
Zach Linfield, zachlinfield@gmail.com
La Crosse, Wisc. — The largest crowd of the season (2,193) that the Huskies’ have seen bought tickets at Copeland Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin to watch their Loggers defeat Duluth by a score of 10-9. Ben Pedersen (ND, 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) got his fourth start of the season and struggled with contact as the Loggers ran him from the game after the 5th inning. The 6th inning brought the most excitement as there were eight combined runs scored.
The late innings brought jolts of electricity in a negative way for the Huskies. Ethan Hammerberg (L, 0-2) entered the game in the bottom of the 8th and walked the second batter and hit Michael Dixon II on the hand after it looked as if he swung. Ronnie Sweeny took the plate and after Stroh and Dixon II both stole bases, Sweeny looped a single into right-center field and scored both runners for the lead.
In the 9th, Mike Boeve had his first plate appearance after entering the game as a defensive replacement facing Jared Freilich (SV-1). He roped a double to left field that was inches away from being a game-tying home run. After Voitik struck out for the second out in the inning, Cason Tollett pinch-hit, loaded the count, and walked on a framed pitch from the Loggers’ catcher. Kimo Fukofuka then waltzed into the box to pinch-hit and hit a sharp, bouncing ball to the six-hole and would have reached base due to the depth of the infield. However, Mike Boeve rounded 3rd base thinking that the shortstop, Cade Clemons, would attempt to gun Fukofuka at 1st. Boeve was then caught in a short rundown and was thrown out at home.
The Loggers used six pitchers and the Huskies used four. Eli Campbell (W, 1-0) earned his first win of the season in relief and Ethan Hammerberg was tabbed with the loss this afternoon. Jared Freilich earned his first save. In tomorrow’s game, the Huskies will come out with Will McEntire (0-0, 1.20 ERA) on the hill after pitching six solid innings in Waterloo last Sunday.
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The Duluth Huskies are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th 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, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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.