GAME NOTES – GAME 67-68 VS WATERLOO

A summer’s worth of action all comes down to the final four games for the Duluth Huskies. The penultimate series of the regular season is here, and the Waterloo Bucks are in town for the final games of an eight-game season series. Here are the five things to know and game notes packet (linked above) for the biggest series of the summer:

1. LAST TIME OUT: The Huskies wrapped up a six-game road trip in Rochester, playing a doubleheader on Wednesday after Tuesday’s game got rained out. The first game started with the Huskies trailing , 2-0, in the bottom of the second inning, and it ended up getting worse from there. Rochester scored a run in each of the first five innings and led, 7-1, at the midway point of the contest. The Huskies lone run to that point, however, was an encouraging sign: Joshua Duarte, last year’s Big Stick winner, hit his first home run of the summer. Regardless, it wouldn’t be enough, as the Huskies fell, 9-4, in the game. In game two, it was the Huskies who struck hard and fast, scoring three times right away. In what would prove to be a game-long theme, Cardell Thibodeaux and Charlie Sutherland hit home runs in the inning, one of four the Huskies hit. The other two came later on in a five-run top of the seventh that put the game to bed, hit by Ethan Cole and Cal Elvis. Anthony Barrera tossed a complete game on the mound, and the Huskies earned the split with a win, 10-4.
2. DOWN TO THE WIRE: A five team race has been trimmed down to just two. The Huskies, along with the Eau Claire Express, are separated by just one game in the standings with four games to play for both teams. Eau Claire has been on an absolute tear lately, winners of six in a row and eight of their last 10. As a result, the Huskies are the ones looking up at them in the standings. However, Duluth does have the tiebreaker over the Express, meaning the Huskies need to be just one game better (or more) to make the postseason. The Express are in Thunder Bay taking on the Border Cats, then will head to Madison to take on the Mallards to wrap up the regular season. Duluth finishes at home with the Bucks then the Rochester Honkers.
3. RUNNING TO THE RECORD BOOKS: In the second half, the Huskies have been a weapon on the basepaths. At the beginning of the second half, Duluth had swiped 61 bases, a mark that was good for 14th in the Northwoods League. In the second half, the Huskies have stolen a whopping 114 bases with still four games to play, an average of 3.68 per game. The 175 total on the season is a new team record, breaking the previous mark of 167, set in 2018. The increased success rate in those stolen bases is also an encouraging sight. The Huskies were just 73% in their stolen base attempts in the first half. That success rate is up to 90% in the second half.
4. BATTLES WITH THE BUCKS: Waterloo has officially been eliminated from playoff contention after being major players in the five-team race that seems to be down to just two teams now. However, after the Huskies essentially dealt them the finishing blow after sweeping them in Waterloo, would surely relish the role of spoiler this week. They certainly have the offense to do it, scoring a shade over seven runs per game (7.11), seventh in the NWL. No one takes better at-bats than the Bucks (0.90 BB/K, best in the league) and with how dangerous they are on the bases (178 SB, 4th), it feels like the Bucks have runners in scoring position every inning. They have a good bat to get those guys home: Lucas Moore, a Buck from basically the beginning, leads the charge with his .351 BA and 44 RBIs, both most on the team. The question for the Bucks is can they get good enough pitching? They rank in the bottom half of the league in many important pitching categories, including walking the 8th-most batters, something the Huskies often take advantage of. The Huskies, so far, have had their way in this series winning five of the six games, including five in a row. The two teams split, however, the only other time the Huskies hosted the Bucks this season.
5. LAST CHANCE, BEST CHANCE: The final four home games of the regular season are upon us, meaning it’s the last chances to come down to the Wade. For the series with the Bucks, Wednesday night is Mental Health Awareness night along with discounted hot dogs. Thursday features select discounted drinks. However, the Friday-Saturday series is where things get really fun. Friday night features our second, and final, postgame fireworks show to celebrate the end of the season as well as a Pack the VW school supply drive. The goal is to fill up an entire VW with school supplies, so we hope you can participate in that! Saturday night is the Nine Innings of Winning deal with prizes to be handed out all night long! It’s also Dukes jersey night and, of course, Grill and Chill! Tickets are still available to join us for everything this week. To buy tickets, follow this link. If you would like to participate in our Grill and Chill ($60 for unlimited steak, chips, potato salad, three drinks, and a ticket to the game), call the ticketing office at 218-716-9909.