Beetles on Short End of Record 38-Run Game

July 12, 2012 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Alexandria Beetles News Release


Alexandria, MN - In the highest scoring game in Northwoods League history, the Duluth Huskies (24-18, 5-3) rallied from an 8-1 third-inning deficit and held off a furious Alexandria Beetle (16-26, 3-4) rally to win a 20-18 shootout at Knute Nelson.

The teams combined to send 112 men to the plate, pounded out 39 combined hits, blasted six home runs and hit eight batters in a nearly-four-hour marathon that, with 38 total runs, surpassed the scoring output in a 24-12 Lacrosse win over Wisconsin Rapids on August 9, 2010.

The 18 runs scored by the Beetles were the most scored by a losing team in Northwoods history surpassing the Green Bay Bullfrogs in a 19-16 loss to Rochester in 11 innings on May 30, 2009.

After the Huskies scored a run in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 lead, Alexandria exploded in the opening inning with seven runs and eight hits to chase Duluth starter Austin Perez. Matt Beaty hit a three-run shot, his second, and Dylan Raper hit a two-run homer, his first, in the inning. The Beetles also pounded out four doubles from Ben Moore, Stephen McGee, in his first Alexandria at-bat, Josh Guerra and Will Fulmer.

An RBI single by Beaty in the second put the Beetles up 8-1 and in seeming control. But Duluth rallied for two in the third and six in the fourth off starter Ali Simpson and Caleb DeLee to take a 9-8 lead. Luke Campbell's grand slam to give the visitors a 9-8 lead ended the night for Simpson.

The Beetles quickly retook the lead as the first four men reached in the bottom of the fourth on a single, walk, hit by pitch and error to score two runs, but the Huskies were not done.

In the top of the fifth, 16 men came to the plate for Duluth with catcher Connor Joe hitting a pair of homeruns, a solo shot and another grand slam, on the two pitches he saw in the inning. The Huskies scored 11 times in the frame, on nine hits, two walks, a hit by pitch and an error to double up the Beetles 20-10.

But with Rene Martinez and then Anthony Bazzani taking over on the mound for Alexandria, the Huskies didn't score for the remainder of the night and the Beetles began to slowly chip away.

Single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh pulled the Beetles to 20-13 and Alexandria scored five runs in the eighth, sending eleven men to the plate. The first five men in the inning reached on a hit by pitch, walk and three hits in an inning that also featured a wild pitch on a swinging third strike, and the bases were loaded with two outs when a flair off the bat of Ryan Padilla was caught with a slide by Duluth centerfielder Brian Hansen to preserve the lead.

Alexandria put a man on with one out in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but Fulmer and Tanner Vavra were retired by Duluth closer Dylan Vogt who earned his fourth save.

Matt Lowenstein, who replaced Raper in the top of the second after the leftfielder injured his knee after hitting his homerun, led the Beetles with four hits while Beaty, with another 3-4 night, pulled his average to an even .300 and added four RBIs. Every batter in the starting lineup for the Alexandria Beetles scored at least once and had at least one RBI.

For the Huskies, Brian Hansen was 4-5 with five runs scored, James Ramsey was 3-4 with three runs and five RBIs, and Joe was 2-4 with three runs and five RBIs. Every Husky scored at least once.

Duluth's starters have lasted a combined three innings in the first two games of the series.

The teams return to the field for the middle game of their five game set on Thursday as impressive 6-0 righty Joey Novak will throw for the Huskies against Shawn Riesgraf for the Beetles.



Northwoods League Stories from July 12, 2012


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