DULUTH, MN – The Duluth Huskies dominated in a 6-1 victory over the Eau Claire Express at Carson Park, their fifth victory in six games to begin the second half of the 2025 campaign. <\/p>\n
Duluth sent Marshall High School graduate Owen Marsolek to the bump in Eau Claire, marking the first time the hometown Husky got the nod to start. His first inning of work did not immediately go to plan, with a two-out double by Quentin Coats driving in Alex Hendrickson for Eau Claire. <\/p>\n
Duluth would flip that 1-0 score in the second, however. Nate Novitske and Paul Contreras both walked, before Tyler Palmer laced a one-out single to score the former. Contreras then crossed the plate on a Rowan Kelly RBI groundout to shortstop. Owen Marsolek pitched a scoreless frame thereafter, making the score 2-1 in favor of Duluth after two innings. <\/p>\n
The Twin Ports pups continued to add on, with Huskies third baseman Ethan Surowiec reaching on an error, then scoring on a sacrifice fly from first baseman Trey Craig. Things continued to roll Duluth\u2019s way in the fourth, with returning Huskies shortstop Elijah Fairchild reaching on a fielder\u2019s choice. Fairchild, previously out for more than a week, scored on an RBI single from leadoff batter Rowan Kelly, plating the fourth Huskies run. <\/p>\n
Owen Marsolek continued to dominate throughout the game, putting the traffic in the first well behind him as he pitched five innings and held the Express down as the Huskies scored. A dazzling eight strikeouts highlighted the day, with Marsolek only allowing three hits and a walk. <\/p>\n
The Huskies turned the game over first to Jayden Watts, then Devin Costa for two outstanding innings of work, and finally to Carson Turnquist in the eighth. All three maintained the 4-1 lead for Duluth. <\/p>\n
In the top of the ninth, the Huskies added insurance to their lead. Nate Novitske notched an infield single, followed by a one-out single from Elijah Fairchild. Palmer walked to load the bases, with Rowan Kelly again coming in clutch for Duluth with an RBI single into left. <\/p>\n
Elijah Fairchild, trying to score from second, was thrown out during the play. However, a passed ball from Eau Claire\u2019s catcher, Matthew Cormier, allowed Tyler Palmer to score the sixth Duluth run regardless. <\/p>\n
In the bottom of the ninth, Turnquist worked around a two-out walk to elicit a swinging strikeout from Alex Hendrickson, ending the ballgame in Duluth\u2019s favor. Marsolek took the win, while Turnquist was credited with the save. <\/p>\n
That victory moved the Huskies to 27-14 on the season, maintaining a one-game lead over La Crosse for the overall division standings and bolstering their second-half lead to two games over Waterloo. <\/p>\n