Timely hitting, defense, and pitching help the Huskies win a close ballgame
Adam Cohen, cohena@allegheny.edu
Duluth, Minn. – The Duluth Huskies (17-24) continue to dominate at home as they took the first game of a two-game set against the Eau Claire Express (16-25) by a score of 4-3. The Huskies are now 4-1 at the Wade.
The Huskies were able to hold off the Express in a back and forth game. The Express opened up the scoring with a run in the top of the first, but the Huskies retaliated in the bottom of the frame as Mike Boeve came around to score on a rundown.
The Huskies pulled ahead in the bottom of the third thanks to a suicide squeeze initiated by Bret Paulsen. Duluth then tacked on another run in the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Boeve. The next inning, the Express tied up the game 3-3 because of a two-run triple from Marcus Cline. However, starter Ronnie Voacolo was able to strand Cline to escape the jam.
Overall, Voacolo was brilliant for the Huskies once again. Voacolo picked up his second quality start of the season and went 6.0 innings, scattering 7 hits, three runs (all earned), walking three, and striking out five.
Although Voacolo did not factor in the decision, the Huskies did not let Voacolo’s outing go to waste. Payton Powell drove in the go-ahead run on a sac fly in the bottom of the 7th to bring the Huskies back on top 4-3. The Texas Longhorn now has 10 RBIs in nine games played this season.
Following Voacolo, the bullpen shut down the Express offense with three scoreless frames. Zach Statzer (3-2) earned the victory after putting up two goose eggs on the board. Statzer was able to keep the game close because of his battery mate Cason Tollett. The incoming Redwolf at Arkansas State threw out a runner trying to advance to second in the seventh inning and applied the tag at home on a fielder’s choice during a close play in the eighth.
After Statzer, Ethan Hammerberg closed out the win for his first save of the season. The Huskies turned a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play to finish off the game. As a whole, Huskies’ pitching stranded nine Express runners and left the inning with at least one runner in scoring position on five separate occasions.
With the victory, Huskies improved to 5-2, while the Express fell to 4-5 in the second half. The ‘Skies return to Wade Stadium tonight at 6:35 PM against the Express as they look for the twin bill sweep.
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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.
