Duluth falls in 5-4 heartbreaker to Willmar
The Duluth Huskies traveled south to Willmar, Minnesota on Saturday for game one of a two game series with the Stingers. In the game, the Huskies (18-7) fell behind early and failed to overcome a four run lead for Willmar (15-10).
The early damage was done in the second inning, when the Stingers struck for three runs against Duluth starting pitcher, Hunter Bigge (Harvard).
The scoring began with a solo homerun by John Trousdale (Alabama), his first of the year, to make it 1-0. Later in the inning, Jaxon Hallmark (Nebraska) singled in a run to double the Willmar lead. The following batter, Matt Rudick (San Diego State) brought in Hallmark to score, giving the Stingers the early 3-0 lead.
The Huskies struck back in the fourth, securing their first run of the game on a solo homerun by Justin Mitchell (Oklahoma), his first of the season.
In the fifth, however, the Willmar offense got the best of Bigge once more, scoring two runs on a two-run homerun by Nic Hernandez (Cal Poly Pomona), making it 5-1.
Willmar starter Nick Dentoni (Delta College) was great for the Stingers. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out one Duluth hitter.
In the seventh, the Huskies offense struck for three runs against reliever Ben Mora (Cal Poly Pomona). The inning got started with a solo homerun by Trevin Esquerra (Loyola Marymount), his first of the season.
Two batters later, after a dropped third strike and standup double put two runners on base, Augie Isaacson (Friends University) knocked in two RBI’s on a triple to make it a one run game.
Unfortunately for Duluth, the next two batters failed to bring in the tying run as Isaacson was stranded at third to end the inning.
In the eighth, the Huskies threatened again, putting their first two batters on base with nobody out. However, the offense was unable to produce any runs from the promising situation, thus missing another golden opportunity.
In the final inning, Willmar head coach Bo Henning called upon relief pitcher Jake Drew (North Dakota State) to close out the ballgame. He did exactly that, sending the Huskies down in order in the ninth and securing a 5-4 win for the Stingers.
With the win, Willmar improves to 15-10 on the year while Duluth falls to 18-7. The Huskies still maintain a three game lead atop the North Division of the Northwoods League.
The Huskies are back in action tomorrow as they take on the Willmar Stingers at Bill Taunton Stadium once again. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. You can listen live to all the action in Willmar on 92.1 The Fan.
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The Duluth Huskies are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.duluthhuskies.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Huskies as your favorite team
