Duluth splits two game set at Rochester with 7-2 victory.
Matthew Hargrove, matthewhargrove0834@gmail.com
Rochester, Minnesota – The Huskies received a stunning outing from their starting pitcher Zach Statzer, which secured a 7-2 Wednesday night win over the Rochester Honkers. The victory for Duluth ended their six game road trip at 3-3, while splitting the season series with Rochester at four games a piece. Statzer had one of his best outings of the season, racking up five strikeouts and only allowing three hits during his five scoreless frames. Right Fielder Calyn Halvorson was the offensive standout in tonight’s contest, going 2-2 with three walks and two runs.
The Huskies largest offensive inning came in the second. Honkers starting pitcher Kellen Pate walked four, while allowing three runs to score on a couple of wild pitches and an RBI groundout off the bat of shortstop Michael Brooks. Pate was replaced by Jake Brodsky with two outs in the second inning, who got the Honkers out of the jam. Brodsky couldn’t find his command in the third inning though, walking four that led to a run and a 4-0 Husky deficit.
Two more runs scored for Duluth in the sixth inning on an RBI single from first baseman Peyton Powell, and an RBI groundout from Ryan McDonald. Rochester picked up their two lone runs in innings seven and nine, which wasn’t enough to overcome the slow start.
Looking at the Great Plains East Division, the Huskies find themselves 0.5 games behind the Waterloo Bucks in the second half standings and tied with the Eau Claire Express in the overall standings. If the Huskies do not win the second half standings, they would need to have a better overall record than every team in the Great Plains East with the exception of the Waterloo Bucks (Clinched playoff spot with first half win) to punch their ticket into the postseason. Duluth welcomes division rival in the La Crosse Loggers to Wade Stadium tomorrow for a two game series for a chance to decrease the Loggers playoff hopes with a 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.