Huskies Sweep the Honkers with a 17-4 Blowout Victory, and a 4-3 Comeback Victory
Northwoods Duluth Huskies

Huskies Sweep the Honkers with a 17-4 Blowout Victory, and a 4-3 Comeback Victory

August 5, 2025 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Duluth Huskies News Release


ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Duluth Huskies got their last week of regular season play off to a great start against the Rochester Honkers, sweeping them in a two game set on Monday and Tuesday.

Monday night's contest began in bizarre fashion as the Huskies scored their first five runs of the game without the benefit of a hit. After three innings of play, Duluth led 5-2 on zero hits, nine walks, three hit by pitches, and two errors. Rochester was already on their third pitcher of the game when the fourth inning came around.

The scoring did not stop for the Huskies in the fourth inning, but the hitless stretch sure did. Ethan Cole and Jake Downing began the inning with back to back base hits, and that later set the stage for an RBI groundout by Sam Schneider to grow the lead to 6-2.

The Huskies continued to tack on runs in the fifth inning when Ethan Surowiec blasted his Northwoods League leading 17th home run of the season way out of Mayo Field. Another crooked number followed for Duluth in the seventh inning on a pair of sacrifice flies by Surowiec and George McIntyre. The third Honkers error of the game plated another run, and the Huskies led 11-2 at the seventh inning stretch.

Sean Waits, the right hander out of McLennan Community College, started the game Monday night and pitched beautifully. After allowing two runs and three hits in the bottom of the first, Waits buckled down and shut the Honkers out over the next six innings. He finished with seven innings of work, six strikeouts, two runs allowed, and no walks. He lowered his ERA on the season to 2.70 and his WHIP to 1.07 after the great outing.

With a bullpen that was already stretched thin, the Honkers had to put a position player on the mound to pitch in the eighth and ninth innings. Infielder Connor Kaiser got the nod and pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning before a nightmare six-run inning followed in the ninth. The Huskies recorded six hits in the inning, highlighted by back-to-back doubles by Noah Furcht and Ethan Surowiec.

Rochester was able to score two runs in the ninth inning off Carson Turnquist, but ultimately fell to the high-powered Huskies offense 17-4. The 17 runs are the most Duluth has scored in a single game all season long.

The second game of the series on Tuesday afternoon began with far fewer runs scored. The Huskies struck first this time around, scoring a lone run in the third inning when Rowan Kelly scored on an error by Honkers shortstop Ricky Requejo.

The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth when it was the Huskies' turn to commit a costly error. With Honkers on second and third, Luke Stulga chopped a grounder to Bjorn Lind at second base who couldn't decide whether to throw home or to first base. He ended up throwing it down the right field line instead and Rochester scored two runs to take a one run lead.

That fifth inning was the end of Jackson Kendall's start, but he was effective once again in his starting capacity. The new Houston Christian commit allowed just one earned run and one walk over his outing with four strikeouts, but departed with his team trailing 2-1.

Lou Rivera was the first bullpen arm for the Huskies, and after a scoreless frame in the sixth, a wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed a third run home on the day for Rochester. The Honkers now held a 3-1 lead going into the eighth inning.

Kingsley Guthrie got that run back immediately in the top of the inning, hitting his third home run of the season over the wall in left to cut the deficit in half. Later in the inning, with runners on second and third and two outs, Noah Furcht drove a ball to center field. With a spectacular sliding play on the warning track right in front of the wall, Rochester's centerfielder Luke Stulga robbed Furcht of extra bases and robbed the Huskies of taking the lead in the process.

The bottom of the eighth saw Duluth reliever Devin Costa shut down the Honkers in order and keep it a 3-2 game, giving the Huskies a shot in the ninth.

Ethan Surowiec led off the inning, and got plunked right on the helmet on the second pitch he saw. Simon Murray followed with a hard shot single into right field, and the Huskies were in business. After Ethan Cole popped up on the infield, George McIntyre came in to pinch hit with one away and worked a walk, loading the bases for Guthrie. Much like Cole, Guthrie swung away at the first pitch he saw and popped out, this time to the catcher. The bases remained loaded, but the Huskies were now down to their last out.

It was up to Bjorn Lind, who just happened to be making his first start since June 19th. With an 0-2 count, Lind singled into right field to score the tying and go-ahead runs at the last possible moment. The Huskies now led 4-3 with three outs left to get.

Devin Costa delivered a scoreless inning once again, and the Huskies came away with the victory and the sweep.

On Deck:

With the pair of wins, the Huskies moved to a 44-24 victory overall in the 2025 season. They'll play their last two regular season road games on Wednesday and Thursday nights in Thunder Bay against the Border Cats. First pitch on Wednesday evening will be 5:35 p.m. central, with Thursday night's contest set to start at 6:35 p.m. central time. After Eau Claire lost to Waterloo on Monday night, the Huskies need just one more win or an Express loss to clinch the second half division title and a playoff spot.



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