Battle Creek, Mich. – The Loggers smashed the Bombers 11-5 in C.O. Brown Stadium. Nolan Gromacki (Missouri) improved to 2-3 on the season, pitching four innings in the win.
La Crosse drew first blood in the top of the first. Will Savage (Columbia) singled and stole second base with a runner out and scored two batters later on a hit by Alex Merritt (North Florida).
Battle Creek recovered in the 2nd when two singles and a fielder’s choice left runners on the corners with two outs for Dre Gleason (Austin Peay). Dre gave the Bombers on 3-1 lead on his 3-run home run.
The Loggers went on a nine unanswered run streak over the next five innings. Mason McCoy (Iowa) doubled and score for the 56th time of the season. The run gave him the Logger single season record held by Trentt Copeland in 2011.
Ryan Kirby (Sa Diego) kept the ball rolling when his one-out single brought it in Jordan Zimmerman (Michigan State) and Chris Baker (Washington). The hit gave La Crosse the lead back, 4-3.
Brock Lundquist (Long Beach State) got his first hit of the game on a double in the 5th. He scored on a sacrifice hit by Zimmerman. Alex Merritt, who reached on a Bomber error, came on home via Jordan Pearce (Nevada), who also scored to extend the Logger lead to four.
Ryan Kirby continued his rampage at the plate, taking the first pitch he saw over the outfield wall for a leadoff home run.
La Crosse scored three more runs to secure the win 11-5. Matt Naylor (North Florida) threw four scoreless innings in relief. Mason McCoy broke another Logger single season record tonight. He now is the team single season record holder for hits, total bases, and runs.
The Loggers are now 10-7, and only one game behind Kenosha in the second half division standings. Their lead for the final wild card spot is now four and a half games. Next up for La Crosse is a short drive to Kalamazoo for a pair against the Growlers. Game time is set for 7:05 (EST); catch the game on the Loggers Radio Network. Pre-game is live at 6:30.
