Thunder Bay, Ont. – Duluth gave up five runs in the bottom of the eighth to lose 7-5 to Thunder Bay on Saturday night. Duluth didn’t for seven innings, but the pitching fell apart late and the Border Cats capitalized with a go-ahead three-run triple from Hayden Crites with one out in the eighth.
The game got started 90 minutes late thanks to a weather delay, but the Huskies came out ready to play anyways. The visitors jumped out to a 1-0 first inning lead thanks to a Jalen Smith RBI single. Parker Kristall earned the start and worked four innings, allowing two runs and striking out three.
Duluth danced out of trouble for most of the game. Kristall had a lead when he walked the bases loaded with no outs in the second. But an infield fly and two strikeouts ended the threat with no drama. The third saw Kristall face more trouble, allowing the game to be tied thanks to an error. Kristall loaded the bases again with a pair of hit by pitches but got a groundout to escape another jam.
George McIntyre singled in the fourth to reclaim the lead, scoring brand new Husky Brayden Smith. The bottom of the fourth immediately retied the game, with Kristall allowing the first three to reach including a Lincoln Pack RBI single before retiring three straight to escape the threat.
Duluth regained the lead for the third time on a Jalen Smith solo home run in the fifth, his sixth of the season. Smith finished 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI, his second three hit game of the season. Brayden Smith picked up his first of two RBI in the game later in the inning on a single, scoring Reagan Reeder. Logan Reid was excellent as the first man out of the pen, shutting down Thunder Bay for two innings.
In the seventh, Duluth added on with another Brayden Smith RBI single, this time scoring Waylon Walsh. Reid came out for a third inning of work but after allowing a triple and a walk, was removed for Ben Llewellyn. Llewellyn was sharp, striking out the side around a hit by pitch to strand the bases loaded and help Duluth escape yet another jam relatively unharmed. Across the first seven innings, Thunder Bay scored two runs and left thirteen runners on, including three times stranding the bases loaded.
It all came unraveled in the eighth for the visitors. Elijah Underhill made his debut for Duluth but did not record an out, allowing a leadoff double followed by two walks before being removed. Jude Sundquist replaced him, but after a strikeout that suggested the Huskies may dance through another inning, he walked a batter to push one run across and allowed Crites to rip a bases-clearing triple into the right field corner to give the Border Cats a 6-5 lead. The home team added another run on a Jacob Poletto RBI single to add insurance. Drew Morehead earned the save with a relatively clean ninth.
Brayden Gluth started for Thunder Bay, allowing four runs across five innings but striking out seven. Reid Leonard got the win, dominating Duluth for the second time this season with three innings of one run ball. Pack went 2-for-6 for the Cats with a double and an RBI. Dax Hardcastle had two hits including a double in the loss to go side by side with Jalen Smith’s three hit day.
On Deck
Duluth and Thunder Bay wrap up their series with a Sunday matinee at 12:35 p.m. CT. The Huskies then match up with Eau Claire for their second commuter series in a week, with Monday’s game taking place in Duluth and Tuesday’s in Eau Claire. These two teams then meet again back in Duluth for their third series of the season on Tuesday and Wednesday before the Huskies wrap up their first half home schedule with two games against Waterloo. Tickets for Huskies home games can be found on the tema website and all action home and away can be caught on FloSports.