The Rochester Honkers were going against a recent Rochester Community and Technical College graduate in last Thursday's game in Duluth.
TJ Nowak, a native of Minnesota Lake and graduate of Maple River High School, pitched the first six innings of what would be a 3-2 Duluth victory.
Nowak gave up only two runs (on six hits and three walks) and struck out three, but he left the game with the Huskies trailing the Honkers 2-1. He threw 82 pitches, 48 for strikes.
Nowak had been picked up about a week earlier. He appeared in relief three days before Thursday's start, pitching two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one in a 10-1 win over Willmar.
In RCTC's season this spring, Nowak went 6-0 in seven starts, striking out 42 in 36 innings. He had been playing this summer with his hometown Minnesota Lake Royals amateur team. He plans to play for Bethany Lutheran in Mankato next spring.
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Five of Nowak's RCTC teammates are also headed for college baseball next season.
Matt Stubbs(Mayo) will be playing at Northern State in South Dakota.
Bryce Christopher(Jackson County Central) will pitch at Wayne State (Nebraska).
Sean Hohmeister(Stewartville) will play at Viterbo University in La Crosse.
Mike Burroughs(Lansing, Iowa) will play at Luther.
Nolan Luhman(Jackson County Central) is scheduled to play at Dakota Wesleyan in South Dakota.
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Former Duluth Huskies pitcher Mark Melanconis on the National League roster for the Major League Baseball all-star game tonight.
Melancon, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has a 0.81 ERA in 45 appearances this season, with 46 strikeouts and only four walks. He has not allowed an earned run in his last 14 games, dating back to June 4.
During the 2004 Northwoods League season, Melancon appeared in seven games for the Huskies. He struck out 33 batters in 37 innings pitched and had a 1.95 ERA.
Melancon is an injury replacement. He is the sixth former Northwoods League player to be selected for the game.
The others are: Detroit's Max Scherzer(La Crosse); Chicago White Sox's Chris Sale(La Crosse); Tampa's Ben Zobrist(Wisconsin); Washington's Jordan Zimmermann(Eau Claire); and St. Louis's Allen Craig(Alexandria).
In its 20th year, the Northwoods League has had 105 former players go on to play in the majors.
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American Legion Post 92 of Rochester will hold its second annual Supporting Our Veterans golf tournament on Sept. 7 at Northern Hills.
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The post donates thousands of dollars each year to help support local veterans and other charitable endeavors in the community. Last year the donations totaled more than $95,000.
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Lake City thoroughbred race horse owners Richard Bremerand Cheryl Sprickhad one running Saturday at Canterbury Park. Ragged Edge finished sixth, 17 lengths behind the winner, in a field of eight in a 1 1/16-mile claiming race.
The race had been scheduled for the turf but moved to dirt because of the heavy rains in the area earlier in the day. Ragged Edge, running for a claiming price of $25,000, went off at about 6-to-1 odds.
On Thursday, they have City Kid, a 3-year-old, entered in $15,000 maiden claiming race for Minnesota-breds, and on Friday they have Final Moment, a 4-year-old, entered in a $25,000 claiming race. In his last outing on June 23, Final Moment placed third.
