Duluth loses early lead and drops final game of the first half against Rochester
Zach Linfield, zachlinfield@gmail.com
Duluth, Minn. — In the final game of the first half, the Huskies got off to a hot start in the first third of the game but faltered late in an 8-5 loss to the Rochester Honkers.
Duluth offered southpaw, Caden Griffin (1-2) on Monday night. Although effective at avoiding contact, he walked eight batters. He allowed no hits through the first four innings and posted a line of 4.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 8 BB, 2 K. He was backed by the trio of Michael Sarhatt, Zach Statzer, and Ethan Hammerberg. Statzer was tabbed with the loss under the lights at Wade Stadium after the Honkers took the lead on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Mac Horvath, who is making a strong case for an all-star appearance. Horvath went 1-for-1 with three walks, a stolen base, and the sacrifice.
It seemed as if the Huskies put on cruise control after 1st year Manager, Paul Weidner was ejected after arguing a call at 1st Base. Following the tossing of their skipper, Rochester scored seven unanswered runs and never looked back. Through an impressive bullpen performance, three Honkers helped Rochester earn their 15th win of the season. Marcus Krupke (1-4) secured his first win of the year as he was first to enter after starter, Kenny Lippman exited. The Honkers were gifted four errors on behalf of the Huskies and capitalized on all four.
Charlie Rhee delivered at the plate through five innings, going 3-for-3 in those appearances including a double and a run scored in the 1st. He finished 3-for-5 and made a handful of plays in Left Field. Mike Boeve continues his dominance at the plate, singling twice. In the 9th, when the game looked out of reach, Michael Brooks pinch-hit for Brett Paulsen and rocked a leadoff double to left-center field, he scored the lone run in the 9th.
Duluth will travel to Eau Claire to kick off the second half facing their division foe, the Eau Claire Express in Carson Park for a home-and-home. The Huskies will see a clean slate, a 0-0 record with probable Johnny Guzman taking the bump. In his second to last start, he battled the Express back on June 23rd and posted an impressive 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K in a Huskies’ 4-0 victory.
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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.
