La Crosse, Wisc. – Lakeshore came out firing in a 13-7 win over the Loggers in Copeland tonight. Alex Shake (Illinois Central) took his first loss. Jordan Zimmerman (Michigan State) was in the lineup tonight, but was injured during batting practice and had to be taken out of the lineup. Alex Merritt (North Florida) replaced Zimmerman, playing in left field.
The Chinooks wasted little time in getting to Alex Shake. After a groundout, Zarley Zalewski (Kent State) doubled followed by a walk. Lucas Raley (Lake Erie) doubled in the first run. Hits by Greg Deichmann (LSU) and Mark Kolozsvary (Florida) brought in three more runs. Will Savage (Columbia) scored a run for the Loggers in the bottom half of the first on a Jordan Pearce (Nevada) single.
The onslaught continued in the second inning, sending 13 batters to the plate. Nine runs scored on six hits in the inning. Jack Ralston (UCLA) came in to relief the inning with no outs and two Chinooks on base, but surrendered four runs on his line before he was able to escape the inning.
After slowijng the Chinooks offense, the Loggers started to crawl back into the game. Michael Echavia (Chabot) came into the game in the 3rd and brought in Brock Lundquist (Long Beach State) on a single. La Crosse singled five more times in the 4th, including a 2 RBI single by Lundquist. That cut the Lakeshore lead to 13-5
The Lumbermen meandered two more runs but still fell short 13-7. La Crosse falls to 17-13 in the second half and 36-28 overall. Kenosha defeated Mankato and extended their lead over the Loggers to 5 and a half games. The Chinooks climbed up to 4 and a half games back for the final wild card spot.
La Crosse gets their chance to even the two-game series tomorrow night. Game time is 5:05, gates open at 4. Come to Copeland Park for the game and get a team picture on BioLife Plasma Services Night!