Early errors hurt Huskies; Sapp records first home run

DULUTH, Minn — A day removed from a competitive series opener against the St. Cloud Rox, the Duluth Huskies had revenge on their minds for the Monday night battle.

The Rox got ahead in the first frame in an inning that witnessed the Huskies commit two errors defensively. St. Cloud managed to plate two runs, and it took that lead through the first three innings.

In the visiting fourth, the Rox gathered a sacrifice fly off the bat of Carson Keithley. Later in the inning, Ryan Jackson scored on a John Nett RBI base hit.

After crossing the halfway mark, the Huskies struck for the first time on the scoreboard. A bases-loaded walk dealt to Jonathan Vastine put the score at 4-1.

The bottom of the sixth saw Duluth get within two runs of tying the contest. Ole Miss product Hudson Sapp launched his first home run of the 2022 Northwoods League season to cut the deficit to two.

Duluth struggled to break through against the bullpen of the Rox. St. Cloud held off a comeback attempt from the hometown Huskies to earn a 4-2 victory.

Rox starter Brayden Gainey registered five innings on the slab, allowing one run on four hits. Those numbers were accompanied by four walks and four strikeouts.

Huskies starter Caleb Gallant went 3 2/3 innings, conceding four runs on four walks and a pair of punchouts. Gallant did not allow a hit until the fourth inning. He received the tough-luck loss.

For back-to-back games, St. Cloud turned to its coveted closer in Chase Grillo. Grillo worked an impressive bottom of the ninth to snag his 12th save of the year.

It is the first time this season that Duluth has been swept in a two-game series at Wade Stadium. The loss puts the Huskies at 2-4 (21-18). St. Cloud prevails to 6-0 (31-8) on the campaign.

The Huskies travel to Eau Claire to take on the division-leading Express Tuesday night. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm CT.