Combs, Martin, Lane, and Gallardo will take their turns on the mound throughout the season.
Duluth, Minn.- By month’s end, Northwoods League baseball will return for another exciting season, and the Duluth Huskies Baseball Team has a worthy roster of pitchers ready to get their summer reps in for a team looking to build on last year’s success. Jake Combs of Southern Illinois University, Trent Martin of Johnson County Community College, Steen Lane of Missouri Southern, and Cameron Gallardo of St Mary’s College are four such pitchers, as well as the focus of today’s player spotlight.
Jake Combs, a native of Houston, Texas, spent his first two collegiate seasons with Navarro College before making the move to Southern Illinois. In 2021, Jake won the honors of NJCAA Region 14 Pitcher of the Year, collecting a win-loss record of 10-0 to pair with a stellar ERA of 2.28 according to siusalukis.com. For SIU, the Houston native has struck out 33 batters through 31 innings while starting seven contests. A goal Jake has for this season is to trust his pitches more and attack the strike zone.
Trent Martin is a freshman lefty for Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. Starting five games and making 16 total appearances for the Cavaliers this season, Martin boasts a record of 7-1, an ERA of 2.74, and 60 strikeouts over 49 innings pitched, per jcccathletics.com. When he’s not on the mound, Trent enjoys fishing, bowling, and sometimes golf, but if you offer him a brat at the ballpark, make sure you hold the ketchup! “I am terrified of ketchup,” he said. “I can’t even look at it or I will start gaging.”
From Missouri Southern State University comes Steen Lane, a redshirt freshman from Eucha, Oklahoma. Lane used 2018 Duluth Huskies Alum and current MSSU teammate Logan VanWey to get a gauge of what he should do to continue his baseball growth. “After a recent spike in my performance, I spoke with former Huskie Logan VanWey,” he said. “VanWey recommended playing for Duluth as my next step towards my goals.” One of those goals is to turn his raw talent into a dominant arm. To date, Steen has pithced 3.2 innings as a freshman for the Lions, collecting five strikeouts.
Finally, we introduce Cameron Gallardo, a Sophomore at St. Mary’s College of California. Before transferring to St Mary’s, Cam appeared in 20 games for Reedley College, primarily as a closer. In those appearances, the Visalia, California native threw 42 strikeouts in 24 innings for the Tigers, compiling an ERA of 0.74. “Up until JUCO I was always a starter, but because I throw hard my role was limited to closer,” he said. “I want to get back into a starting role.” So far at St. Mary’s, Gallardo has pitched 3.1 innings, striking out five batters per smcgaels.com.
We look forward to each of you taking your turn to bring some wins to the Huskies!
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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.
