GAME NOTES – GAMES 45-46 VS EAU CLAIRE

The Duluth Huskies and Eau Claire Express will continue their four-game series at Wade Stadium for a weekend set. The second half is just about a third of the way completed and this season series will be two-thirds of the way through following this weekend. Here are the five things to know and game notes packet (linked above) for the series:

1. LAST TIME OUT: The Huskies swept the doubleheader series at Copeland Park on Thursday in two very different played games. In game one, the Huskies used a late-inning comeback to get the job done. Trailing, 7-5, through seven innings, the Huskies got two runs in the eighth on back-to-back bases loaded walks to tie the contest. The game made it to extras, and the Huskies ambushed the Express in the 12th. Jake Downing led the inning off with a two-run homer, his first of the season. Then, Cardell Thibodeaux drove in a pair with a double later in the inning. In game two, the Huskies pitching staff shone. Jackson Smith and Jakob Schulz combined to allow just two hits over the entire second game and gave the Huskies their third shutout victory of the year. With the staff working the way they were, the Huskies offense didn’t need to do much. They scattered five runs across four different frames, which proved to be plenty, Cardell Thibodeaux hit another home run in the game. He finished the doubleheader 4-for-8 with a double, two home runs, five RBIs and three walks.
2. DOWNING IS DOMINATING: One of the youngest players on the Huskies has been enjoying one of the best hot streaks by any Huskies all summer. The future Cal Poly Mustang is on a 9-game hit streak. He has 7 RBIs over that stretch, including the go-ahead home run in Duluth’s game one, 11-7, victory in the doubleheader on Friday. 
3. SUCCESS EXPRESS: So far this season, the Huskies have defeated the Express in five out of their six matchups and outscoring them, 50-25. This comes just one season after the Express dominated the Huskies last season, going a perfect, 8-0. Last year, seven of the eight were decided by three runs or fewer. So far, that number is three of six but that’s not counting game one of the doubleheader that the Huskies blew open in extras. This series will be the seventh and eighth meetings between the teams, but they won’t be done yet. By the time the season is over, the teams will have played 12 times.
4. EYEING THE EXPRESS: This season has been a bit of a tough one for the Express so far. They currently sit eight games below .500 and have lost four straight following a 2-1 start to the second half. The Express sport a top-10 offense this summer that has been driven by the long ball. Eau Claire’s 39 home runs are tied for the fifth-most in the entire league. Their leader in that category is Brigs Richartz with seven (7). Along with that, Richartz also leads the team with 13 doubles and 26 RBIs. The pitching side of the game has been the issue for the Express this season. The staff ERA sits at 7.24, the third-worst mark in the league, better than just Minnesota and Minot. They’ve struggled to keep the ball in the yard, allowing 45 homers, second-most in the league. That number feels worse by the fact that it always seems like there’s people on base, aided by a staff that’s walked the fourth most batters in the league (282).
5. FURRY FRIENDS: Anybody got a real Huskie? Saturday night, the Huskies are holding a Bark in the Park Night! All well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome in the ballpark to cheer on their counterparts, the Huskies! Additionally, Friday and Saturday home games mean discounted drinks and a keg respectively, so it’s a good day to be at the ballpark! You can find tickets for these, and any future home games, here.