Lake Superior Sea Dogs

Club Timeline

2021

The Sea Dogs finished in second place in the Upper 13 League with an 8-2 record and qualified for the WBA Playoffs for the ninth time in club history. The team traveled to Hayward on August 14 for pool play in a new playoffs format. A loss to the Eau Claire Bears was followed by a win against the Whittlesey Reds, but the Sea Dogs did not advance out of their pool. Alex Busick led the team in batting (.419), home runs (5), and RBI (20). Ben Rhodes batted .400 and Justin Sedin batted .393. Jake Lewis was 5-1 with a 2.16 ERA.

 

2020

In a season abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sea Dogs (4-2) finished tied for second place in the Upper 13 League but failed to qualify for the WBA Playoffs. Jake Lewis earned the club's MVP and Cy Young Awards. He was 2-1 with a 0.37 ERA.  Kyle Bellin (.348) led the club in batting.

 

2019

The Sea Dogs posted a 7-3 record and finished second in the Upper 13 League's North Division. The club qualified for the WBA Playoffs for the eighth time. The Sea Dogs defeated the Eau Claire Rivermen, 4-2, on August 10 at Spooner for the second playoffs win in club history. The season ended on August 11 with a 2-0 second-round loss to Ashland. Jake Lewis was the club's MVP and Cy Young Award winner. He was 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA. Kevin Hendrickx (.405) led in batting and Pete Atiemo (10) led in RBI.

 

2018

The Duluth-Superior Dukes merged with the Duluth Xpress to become the Lake Superior Sea Dogs for the 2018 campaign. The Sea Dogs finished in second place in the Upper 13 League's North Divison with an 8-2 record. The Sea Dogs qualified for the WBA Playoffs and traveled to Rib Lake where they defeated the Whittlesey Reds, 4-2, on August 11 for the club's first playoffs win after six previous appearances. The season ended on August 12 with a second-round loss to the Hudson River Rats. Peter Lenz and Jake Lewis were co-MVPs and co-Cy Young Award winners. Lenz was 2-4 with a 3.22 ERA and Lewis was 4-2 with a 3.16 ERA. Derek Haedrich (.316) led the club in batting.

 

2017

Due to inclement weather and other factors, the club managed to play only six games in 2017. While the Dukes won five of the six, the club failed to qualify for the WBA Playoffs for the first time since 2011. Jake Lewis posted a 2-0 W-L with a 1.80 ERA in 15.0 innings pitched and Blake Bergquist led in batting (.462), runs (5), and hits (6).

 

2016

An 8-4 record in the Upper 13 League (11-13 overall) sent the club to its fifth consecutive WBA Playoffs appearance. The Whitehall Wolves scored a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Dukes, 4-3, at Haugen on Aug. 13 in the first round of the WBA Playoffs. The club's co-MVP Award winners were Jake Lewis and Jimmy Merling. Lewis went 5-5 W-L with a 2.99 ERA and Merling batted .347 with 16 runs and 26 hits. Club Reliever of the Year Award winner Anthony Bush tied the club record with 15 pitching appearances. He recorded a 1.47 ERA.

 

2015

The club became the Duluth-Superior Dukes and split its home games between Duluth's Bulldog Park and Superior's Morrie Arnovich Field. The club captured its first Upper 13 League championship by going 11-1 in league play. The 2015 season marked the first winning record in club history, at 14-10 overall, and the fourth straight WBA Playoffs appearance. The season ended with a 17-inning, 5-4 loss to the Everest Merchants at River Falls on Aug. 8. The club's co-MVP Award winners were Travis Bartlett (.400 AVG, 14 runs, 32 hits, and a club-record 20 RBI) and Jimmy Merling (.333 AVG, 29 runs, 28 hits). Club Reliever of the Year Award winner Anthony Bush posted a 5-1 W-L record with a 1.69 ERA in 32.0 innings pitched while club Cy Young Award winner Jake Lewis went 2-2 W-L with a 2.77 ERA in 65.0 innings pitched.

 

2014

The Duluth Padres became the Duluth Dukes in 2014. In a one-season trial, the Dukes not only participated in the WBA's Upper 13 League but also in the MBA's Arrowhead League. The club split its home games between Superior's Morrie Arnovich Field and Duluth's Wade Stadium. The club qualified for its third consecutive WBA Playoffs appearance by posting a 7-3 record in the Upper 13 (9-14 overall). The Menomomie Eagles defeated the Dukes, 7-3, in the first round of the WBA Playoffs at Haugen on Aug. 9. Tim Nylund set a club record with a .478 on-base percentage. Club MVP Award winner Jimmy Merling set club records in batting (.423), slugging (.667), hits (33), doubles (10), home runs (3), total bases (52), and RBI (16). Club Cy Young Award winner Jake Lewis posted a 3-4 W-L record and a 5.21 ERA.

 

2013

The Padres earned their second straight selection to the WBA Playoffs by going a club-best 9-3 in Upper 13 League play (11-14 overall). A WBA Playoffs first-round loss to the Beef River Bullfrogs, by a 5-1 score, at Osceola on Aug. 10 concluded the season. Jesse Olson made 15 pitching appearances to tie the club record he set in 2012 and he led the club with 64.0 innings pitched. Club Cy Young Award winner Anthony Bush posted a 4-4 W-L record and a 4.29 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched and club Reliever of the Year Award winner Jake Lewis was 2-0 W-L with a 0.44 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched. Club co-MVP Award winners Nick Moran and Tim Nylund batted .239 and .215 respectively while Greg Schullo led the club with 15 stolen bases.

 

2012

In the club's most successful season to date, the Padres qualified for the WBA Playoffs by finishing in third place in the Upper 13 League. The Padres were 8-6 in league play, a club record for league wins in a season. The 2012 squad tied the club record of 12 wins (set in 2011), and had the best W-L percentage in club history, at .444. A loss to the Whittlesey Reds by a score of 12-8 in the first round of the WBA Playoffs at Rib Lake on Aug. 11 concluded the season. While Matt Chruscielski set a new club record with a .418 slugging percentage, it was the "year of the pitcher" for the Padres. Pitchers Anthony Bush and Jesse Olson shared both team MVP and Cy Young Award honors. Both had five wins, breaking the previous club record of four. Bush had a 2.36 ERA and Olson's was 2.51. Olson, the club's rookie of the year, set new single-season club records for pitching appearances (15) and complete games (6). Bush surpassed 20 career wins, 500 career innings pitched, and 300 career strikeouts in 2012. Corey Pavlich became the first player to reach 100 career games played as a member of the Padres.

 

2011

To reflect the club's 2010 move to UMD's Bulldog Park, the Proctor Padres became the Duluth Padres in 2011. The Padres placed sixth out of eight teams in the Upper 13 League, with a 5-9 league record. The 2011 edition set a new club record of 12 wins, and was 12-19 overall. The team won its first four games of the season, including the first win against the Ashland Merchants in club history, but a six-game losing streak to conclude the season dashed any hopes for the club's first winning season. Bob Eastman set a new single-season club record for hits, with 30, and pitcher Chris Vendela set new single-season club records for wins (4) and strikeouts (86). Matt Chruscielski led the team in batting (.303) and slugging (.408). Keith Gunderson, the club's Rookie of the Year Award winner, had a team-leading 2.90 ERA.

 

2010

The Padres began a new era as they moved from Proctor's Terry Egerdahl Memorial Field to Bulldog Park at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Padres finished third in the Upper 13 League West Division behind Superior and Oulu, and tied the club record for wins in a season (nine). The season was highlighted by a six-game winning streak from July 7-July 18, which included four league games. Noah Hobbs led the club with a .294 batting average, and Mike Gerard broke the club's single-season record with a .463 on-base percentage. Pitcher Anthony Bush set new club single-season records with 13 games started, 88.1 innings pitched, 58 strikeouts, and 1.73 walks per nine innings pitched. Bush and rookie Kevin Schubert led the club with three wins each. Bob Baxton had a club-leading 2.78 ERA.

 

2009

Proctor lost five starters from the 2008 campaign, all of which were also pitchers. Despite having three starters with batting averages above .300 (James Ostrander .348, Corey Pavlich .308, Dan Solarz .302), the Padres struggled to score runs, averaging 3.03 runs per game. The lone win of the season came on July 19 at Port Wing, when Anthony Bush pitched a complete game seven-hitter for a 5-2 victory. Bush set single-season team pitching records for games, games started, innings pitched and strikeouts. Dan Solarz led the club with a .302 batting average. 

 

2008

The Padres finished the regular season with a 7-4 league record and tied with the Bayside Vipers for third place in the Upper 13 League. Proctor handed eventual league champion Oulu its only league loss of the season on July 4, with a 4-2 victory behind the stellar pitching and clutch hitting of Kyle Hall. The Padres made their first appearance in the WBA Playoffs when they faced the Brill Millers at Haugen, Wis., on Aug. 9. Proctor scored five first-inning runs which included a grand slam by Bob Baxton and held a lead into the seventh inning, but eventually lost by an 8-5 score. Nick Koubsky led the team with a .275 batting average. Anthony Bush recorded three wins and a 2.90 ERA and Hall had two wins and a 1.64 ERA.

 

2007

The inaugural season. The name "Proctor Padres" was chosen in honor of Proctor's 1980s-era amateur team. The Spooner Cardinals spoiled Opening Day at Terry Egerdahl Memorial Field with a pair of wins on May 5. The club's first victory came on the next date as the Padres defeated the Superior Lakers by a score of 8-7 on May 13. The Padres' first Upper 13 League win was also against the Superior Lakers, when Paul Michelizzi's walk-off home run capped a five-run seventh-inning rally to give Proctor a 6-4 edge in the second game of a doubleheader on June 10. The Padres went on to win three more league games, defeating the Oulu Blue Jays 7-1 on June 16, Ashland C&S Design 4-0 on July 29, and the Port Wing Boilers 11-1 on Aug. 4. Steve Halvorson batted .328 and late-season addition Nick Koubsky recorded three wins and a 1.32 ERA in six pitching appearances to lead the club. Koubsky allowed just one earned run in three complete game victories.