BOX SCORE – Huskies 1, La Crosse 8
The Duluth Huskies were held to just four hits as they were defeated by the La Crosse Loggers, 8-1, Wednesday night at Copeland Park.
The Huskies (20-22, 3-5) fell behind early yet again to the Loggers (24-17, 2-5) and the offense was held in check all night.
Putting up zeros early in games has been a problem all year for the Huskies. That remained the case in this game. Duluth allowed six runs in the first two innings of Wednesday’s contest after allowing nine in the first two innings on Tuesday. Altogether, the Huskies have now allowed 74 runs in the first two innings of ball games this season.
Tonight, the starter was Ethan Cole, making his first start of the summer. The Loggers manufactured a run in the first with their prowess on the bases. But, in the second, the Huskies hurt themselves. On top of the five hits allowed in the inning, there was also a costly error by Joshua Duarte, a hit by pitch and a walk. The damage? Five La Crosse runs, and a tough hole to climb out of again.
This time, the big inning to get the Huskies back into it never came. The offense mustered just four hits. With the Huskies still trailing, 6-0, the lone run came in the sixth inning. Joe Vos hit an RBI double to drive in Charlie Sutherland, one of two hits for Vos. Sutherland, however, did not record a hit. It snapped a 12-game hit streak for the Duluth native.
La Crosse one-upped the Huskies in the bottom half of the inning anyway with two of their own. It padded the lead to the final score, 7-1.
For La Crosse, the win was their fifth over Duluth this season, clinching the eight-game season series. As for the Huskies, they have now lost four straight after starting the second half winning three of four.
Up Next
The Huskies will make the two-hour bus ride up to Eau Claire where they will play a two-game doubleheader with the Eau Claire Express. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 11:05 am on Northwoods League Plus. Game two will begin at 6:35 pm and that one is an ESPN+ exclusive.