BOX SCORE – Dukes 4, Whiskey Jacks 8
The Duluth Huskies were defeated by the Thunder Bay Border Cats, 8-4, Saturday night in Thunder Bay thanks to some untimely mistakes on the bases and missed opportunities.
In the Huskies final trip north of the border to the Border Cats (13-11), the Huskies (14-11) will rue a missed opportunity against a divisional rival that’s right there with them in the standings.
Bad baserunning doomed the Huskies in the contest today. They had two runners thrown out at third base and another one thrown out at home as well.
Myles Standish made his first start for the Huskies to mixed results. The southpaw out of Hawaii bookended an otherwise solid outing with a pair of blowup innings. He surrendered two runs in the first inning and three more in the fifth before departing with two outs in the fifth. The Huskies trailed, 5-4.
In reality, the Huskies likely should have been in front. Bad baserunning severely hindered a couple of rallies. In the second, Duluth had the bases loaded and Cardell Thibodeaux found a gap that scored two runs. However, Jake Downing was thrown out at third base. What should have been two on and one out became one on and two outs.
Furthermore, in the third, Jayden Duplantier delivered an RBI single for Duluth to put them on top, 4-2. However, Ethan Cole was thrown out at home on a questionable call that went the Border Cats way.
And, while the Huskies had to lead, they would go on to regret those missed opportunities. The three-run fifth gave Thunder Bay the lead. Then three more in the eighth gave the Border Cats all the insurance they would need in the, 8-4, victory.
With the loss, the Huskies dropped a game back of the La Crosse Loggers at the top of the Great Plains East Division. However, that’s who the Huskies have next. Duluth will take two days off before the Loggers are back at Wade Stadium on Tuesday for a doubleheader. The first is a continuation of the game that was rained out on June 12. First pitch scheduled for 4:35 pm. The second will be right after the conclusion of game one.
