Duluth Huskies shut out in home opener

By Jon Nowacki

June 07, 2010 at 11:00 PM

Pitchers tend to dominate early in the Northwoods League baseball season as college players adjust to using wooden bats.

That was apparent again Monday in the Duluth Huskies' home opener, making Huskies starting pitcher Frank DeJiulio a hard-luck loser for the second straight outing as Duluth fell 2-0 to the Mankato MoonDogs before 1,134 at Wade Stadium.

DeJiulio, who started in the Huskies' 1-0 season-opening loss last week at Thunder Bay, has allowed just one run in each of his two starts -- both times in the first inning -- but the end result has been the same.

"You can't let it bother you. You just have to go back out, keep throwing strikes and trust your defense," said DeJiulio, a 44th-round selection of the Chicago Cubs in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft who will play next season for the University of Florida. "We've got nothing to worry about. We've got a very talented team this year, so it's just a matter of time."

Ryan Demmin of Minnesota State-Mankato and Luke Anderson of North Dakota State combined on a five-hitter for the MoonDogs (3-3).

Demmin transferred last season from Wisconsin-Oshkosh to Minnesota State, a Minnesota Duluth rival in the NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. He was redshirted last season but is certainly showing he belongs in the woodbat league made up largely of Division I players. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder hasn't allowed a run in 13 1/3 innings, with 18 strikeouts to just three walks.

"Ryan was an All-Star in the Northwoods League last year and is certainly more than your average D2 player," said Mankato coach Mike Orchard. "He's a high-level pitcher. He was lights out for us last year and has been again this year, and what you saw out there against Duluth, to be honest, wasn't even his best stuff."

DeJiulio went 5 1/3 innings, with five strikeouts and two walks. He gave up a walk to Jose Perez to lead off the game. Perez later scored the game-winner on Robbie Robinson's single. Mankato added an insurance run in the ninth against Huskies reliever Robbie Collier, a junior from North Florida who was otherwise stellar, striking out five in 3 1/3 innings.

Perez and Robinson had two hits apiece for the MoonDogs, while leadoff hitter Barrett Serrato of Purdue had two of the five hits for the Huskies (2-3). Duluth's best chance to score was in the bottom of the first, but a diving catch by Mankato

*ight fielder Danny Miller saved a run.

Mankato stranded seven runners while Duluth stranded six. The Huskies had a combined 19 hits during their two-game winning streak entering Monday.

"Frank just needs to have a little better command in that first inning, but he'll be fine," said Duluth coach Daniel Hersey. "Frank is a bulldog who works hard. No worries there. He'll work in the bullpen on that and be ready to rock and roll on his next start. We just have to swing the sticks a little bit better. We've got to be a little more aggressive and not let the pitcher

dictate."

Standings and box score on Page A6

By Jon Nowacki

Jon Nowacki joined the News Tribune in August 1998 as a sports reporter. He grew up in Stephen, Minnesota, in the northwest corner of the state, where he was actively involved in school and sports and was a proud member of the Tigers’ 1992 state championship nine-man football team.

After graduating in 1993, Nowacki majored in print journalism at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, serving as editor of the college paper, “The Aquin,” and graduating with honors in December 1997. He worked with the Associated Press during the “tobacco trial” of 1998, leading to the industry’s historic $206 billion settlement, before moving to Duluth.

Nowacki started as a prep reporter for the News Tribune before moving onto the college ranks, with an emphasis on Minnesota Duluth football, including coverage of the Bulldogs’ NCAA Division II championships in 2008 and 2010.

Nowacki continues to focus on college sports while filling in as a backup on preps, especially at tournament time. He covers the Duluth Huskies baseball team and auto racing in the summer. When time allows, he also writes an offbeat and lighthearted food column entitled “The Taco Stand,” a reference to the “Taco Jon” nickname given to him by his older brother when he was a teenager that stuck with him through college. He has a teenage daughter, Emma.

Nowacki can be reached at jnowacki@duluthnews.com or (218) 380-7027. Follow him on Twitter @TacoJon1.

Duluth Huskies shut out in home opener

Pitchers tend to dominate early in the Northwoods League baseball season as college players adjust to using wooden bats. That was apparent again Monday in the Duluth Huskies' home opener, making Huskies starting pitcher Frank DeJiulio a hard-luck...