DULUTH — After bowing out early in last year’s Northwoods League postseason via a first-round sweep by the La Crosse Loggers, the Duluth Huskies enter this year’s round of eight teams with something to prove.
This year’s playoffs will mark the Huskies’ fourth appearance in five seasons, with their 2022 run being their most successful after finishing one game shy of a league title.
Nevertheless, coach Marcus Pointer and the Huskies are striving for more this time around.
“We’re trying to win a championship here. That’s been the goal since day one,” Pointer said. “We’ve done a good job of getting into the playoffs here fairly consistently over the years, but again, we’re trying to bring a championship.”
Members of the Duluth Huskies look on from their dugout during a game against Eau Claire at Wade Stadium on May 31.
Dan Williamson / File / Duluth Media Group
As fate would have it, the Huskies will again have to get through the Loggers to achieve their goal of a first league championship. The club has fared well against their upcoming opponent this season, owning an 8-4 record in 12 meetings.
Past matchups with the Loggers have been feisty, according to Pointer, with banter emanating from both dugouts, making poise and focus a necessity for this series.
“If we can kind of just stick to what we do well and not worry about anything else, I think that things will work our way and we’ll be the last one standing,” Pointer said.
The confidence is shared by players alike, including left fielder Noah Furcht, who’s currently second on the team in both hits (44) and runs batted in (39).
As a team, the Huskies rank fourth across the Northwoods League in both batting average (.277) and home runs (58), while leading the league in doubles with 129.
“We never give at-bats away,” said the Esko native. “We’ve got a lot of offense in our lineup, and so it’s never an easy out.”
The offensive firepower begins with third baseman Ethan Surowiec, who was recently named Northwoods League Most Valuable Player as the league leader in both RBIs (68) and home runs (17) and second in batting average (.387).
Ethan Surowiec of the Duluth Huskies hits a solo home run against the Bismarck Larks at Wade Stadium in Duluth on July 11.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
Surowiec’s batting average ranks as the best in Huskies history. His home run and RBI totals are also team records.
As the biggest catalyst for the team’s success, Surowiec has pointed to the team’s resilience and cohesiveness as their biggest strength heading into the postseason.
“Early on in the season, it’s like if you can win the first couple of innings of the game, more than likely you’ll win the game, but the way it’s been recently, it’s been a lot of tough battles,” said the future Florida Gator. “Even if we go down early, I think that as a group we all are tough and we work together.”
The Huskies have six different hitters batting .300 or above: Surowiec (.387), Jake Downing (.368), Rowan Kelly (.344), Bjorn Lind (.323), Ethan Cole (.318) and Reagan Reeder (.303).
While high-powered offense has been the team’s calling card throughout its second-half run, the Huskies’ defense hasn’t lagged far behind. Duluth pitchers have surrendered the sixth-fewest earned runs (351) and the seventh-fewest hits (587) across the league.
Jackson Smith has logged the most innings this season for the Huskies pitching staff with 38.2, including a five-inning gem on Friday in which he held visiting Thunder Bay to just two hits in a 4-0 shutout win over the Border Cats.
Owen Marsolek of the Duluth Huskies walks back to the dugout against the Waterloo Bucks at Wade Stadium on July 25 in Duluth.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
“We have the ability to win in different ways, and that’s what makes this team dangerous,” Pointer said.
The Loggers have proven their mettle as well, as evidenced by a dominant first half to the season in which they went 22-11 to lead the Great Plains East division. Their second half has been less than stellar, though, with a 15-22 record that ranks fifth out of six division teams.
In lieu of consistent pitching, La Crosse has relied on its offense to lead the way, boasting a team batting average of .274 with the seventh-most runs scored at 478.
Unlike the Huskies, who have gone 8-4 thus far in August (including a 10-5 home loss to Thunder Bay in Saturday’s regular season finale), the Loggers have hit a major losing skid with two wins over eight games.
The best-of-three postseason series kicks off Sunday, Aug. 10, at 5:05 p.m. in La Crosse. The series returns to Wade Stadium for the final two games on Monday and Tuesday, if needed.