BOX SCORE – Mud Puppies 6, Huskies 3

The Huskies gave up a, 3-2, lead in the late innings in a, 6-3, loss against the Minnesota Mud Puppies Thursday night at Wade Stadium. 

Sitting a half-game back with a chance to take the lead in the Great Plains East division, old issues plagued the Huskies (11-9, 28-26) in the loss instead, especially when it mattered most. The result was a crushing, debilitating loss to the Mud Puppies (2-6, 3-20). 

It was a pitching duel throughout the beginning of the game. Both starting pitchers gave solid efforts through their six innings on the mound. Mud Puppies starter Cam Hunter came in with good numbers, and showed why. He faced no more than four batters except in two instances. The first was the only blemish on his day: a three run third inning for the Huskies. A walk, stolen base and four singles gave the Huskies a, 3-0, lead. The other was his final inning in which he stranded two runners with a strikeout, one of eight on his day. He came off the mound fired off, and rightfully so, with his team very much in the game. 

His offense scored twice off of Huskies starting pitcher Devin Dodson, who disrupted the rhythm of the Mud Puppies all night long. The lone two runs he surrendered were aided by the Huskies’ poor defense in the inning. Duluth has played much better defense over the last couple weeks, but two errors in the inning meant both runs scored were of the unearned variety, keeping Dodson’s ERA clean. His final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 3 K. Of those strikeouts, his third was his 100th as a Huskie. 

Through six innings, the Huskies and Mud Puppies turned it over to their bullpens with the Huskies on top, 3-2. Albert Roblez and Caden Kratz were the only two pitchers the Huskies used in the final three innings. Normally, that would mean lights out for the Huskies’ opponents. With the worst offense in the league (4.00 runs per game entering the game) on the other side, it felt like that would be a lock. Instead, the Mud Puppies scored four times in the game’s final two innings, including three in the ninth. The Huskies couldn’t score off a bullpen that’s the main reason why the Mud Puppies own the league’s worst ERA (7.92). 

The end result was a, 6-3, loss for the Huskies. 

Up Next 

The good news for the Huskies is that they remain a half-game back after the Express walked off the Border Cats on Thursday night. Duluth gets a chance at redemption in the series finale tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm Friday night.