GAME NOTES – GAMES 26-28 VS LA CROSSE

After a week either on the road or relaxing, the Duluth Huskies finally return to Wade for a five-game home stand. The set starts with the La Crosse Loggers, the leaders of the Great Plains East Division. The series will have major implications on the standings. Here are the five things to know and game notes packet (linked above) for the series with the Loggers:

1. LAST TIME OUT: The Huskies are back home for the first time in over a week following a four game road trip and two off days. Most recently, they were in Thunder Bay for the final time of the summer. The Huskies earned a split with the Border Cats, defeating Thunder Bay, 3-1, in game one, and losing, 8-4, in game two. Pitching led the way for the Huskies in game one, with the staff combining to record 10 strikeouts and surrender just four (4) hits. On the offensive side, two (2) home runs led the way for the Huskies, one each from Ethan Gonzalez and Ethan Cole. In game two, the Huskies led 4-2, but the wheels fell off after that. The offense dried up and the pitching staff allowed three (3) runs each in the fifth and the eighth to defeat.
2. LOGGERS BACK AT WADE . . . AND ALREADY WINNING?: For a second time this season, the Huskies will welcome in a team with the need to finish a prior game suspended in progress. The Loggers return to Wade Stadium following an earlier trip to Duluth on June 11 and 12. The June 12 game was rained out with the Loggers ahead 1-0 following the top of the first. It will be resumed as part one of a doubleheader played on Tuesday, with the second game being just seven innings. A third game in the series will be played on Tuesday.
3. DOWN THE STRETCH WE GO: With the Northwoods League playoff format, the seasons is reaching a critical point. The leader at the end of the first half of the season in each subdivision will automatically receive a berth in the postseason. Just nine (9) games remain for the Huskies in the first half of the season, and the next five are all critical. La Crosse and Waterloo, the Huskies next series, are the two teams currently ahead of the Huskies in the standings. The three teams are separated by just two (2) games in the standings. The good news for Duluth? Seven (7) of the last nine games played will be at home for the Huskies.
4. PROGRESS FROM THE PITCHING: In the past week, the Huskies have turned in their two best performances on the mound all year long. On June 19, they recorded their first shutout of the season against the Rochester Honkers. They followed that up on the next game by allowing just four hits and a single run against Thunder Bay. There were a couple of blowup games in there, but the Huskies have allowed five (5) or fewer runs in four (4) of their past six games played.
5. LOOKING AT THE LOGGERS: There hasn’t been a team hotter than the Loggers in the time since the Huskies and the Loggers last met. La Crosse is 8-2 in their last 10 games, including winners of six (6) games in a row. They have since become the leaders of the Great Plains East division at a critical juncture with the most important baseball of the season to date coming up. The pitching staff has been dominant for the Loggers in the six-game win streak. Over the time, they’ve allowed just 17 runs, for an average of 2.83 per game. Take out one game in which the Loggers allowed eight (8), and that’s nine (9) over five games played. Overall, the staff has just a .222 oBA, best in the league. Offensively, the Loggers will look a bit different than they did last time the teams faced off. The Loggers lineup got a big injection when Case Sanderson joined the team. In his six games, the Nebraska Cornhusker is slashing a cool .478/.567/.609 with 11 RBI. The team still swipes bases as much as they can. Their 94 stolen bases is the most in the league.