Joey Duprey Bismarck Larks 5 IP- 7K in emergency relief 7/22/26 North Woods League
Joey Duprey had a great outing for the Bismarck Larks on July 22, 2026. On day 4 of a 4 day road trip 6 hours from home stadium, the Larks bullpen was shot. The starter gave up 5 runs in the first inning and exited the game. They needed Joe to eat up some innings and he did.
Duprey went 4 & 2/3 striking out 7 and allowing only 1 earned run. He allowed the Larks to battle back and tie up the game in the sixth inning when he exited the game.
I don’t have much video of the game but I thought this was a good clip showing how happy the coach was when he came to take him out. Shaking his hand and joking with him when he told him how proud he was of him. The announcers commentary included for context.
Duprey said he didn’t have his best fastball today, so he relied on curveballs, sliders and a very effective changeup to keep their really good hitters off balance. I included a devastating changeup in the first clip.
Unfortunately after Joe left the game with the game tied, the team collapsed. But I’m proud of his growth and effort. The Northwoods League is a good test of talent with 5th year seniors with a lot of experience all over the field. Joey is still an 18 year old college freshman at the time of this video.
Playing 40 games in 43 days (during the second half of the season) and traveling on busses for 4-6 hours after games, getting into towns in the middle of the night, then playing the next day is a new experience for most young players. It is very different from high school or even the normal college season.