Hermantown defeated Cloquet 5-4 in eight innings in a Lake Superior Conference baseball classic on Monday afternoon at newly-renovated Fitchner Field in Hermantown.
Jimmy Bartsch belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for the Hawks, and teammate River Freeman had a pair of hits.
Bartsch scattered five hits and struck out five for Hermantown, which snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
The Lumberjacks fell to 3-9 and 0-4.
The Hawks will visit nonconference Esko (12-1) today at 4:30 p.m.
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Hermantown boys and girls track teams are among the favorites in the True Team Sections at 1 p.m. today in Cloquet.
Other Hawks teams in action today:
. Boys Golf – at Cloquet, 9 a.m.
. Girls Lacrosse – host Duluth Marshall, 3 p.m. (Centricity Stadium)
. Boys Tennis – host Rock Ridge, 4:15 p.m.
. Softball – host Rock Ridge, 4:30 p.m. Game Notes: The Hawks, who have lost three straight, are 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the Lake Superior Conference, tied for second-place with Rock Ridge (3-1 LSC, 11-2 overall) and chasing Cloquet (5-0, 12-3). The Hawks will also host Duluth Marshall on Friday and Grand Rapids on Monday in consecutive conference games.
. Boys Lacrosse – host Cloquet, 7 p.m. (Centricity Stadium)
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Former Hermantown defensemen Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg and the Winnipeg Jets will begin a best-of-7 Western Conference second-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. Pionk had one goal and five points and was plus-4 in a first round series against St. Louis, including three assists in Game 7. Samberg, who skates with Pionk in a second pairing, had three assists and was plus-3 in the Blues series. Pionk recently signed a six-year contract extension with an average annual value of $7,000,000. The contract extension will begin in the 2025-26 season.
