La Crosse, Wisc. – The Loggers score 10 runs in the 1st and 7 in the 5th to blowout the Thunder Bay Border Cats 18-7.
The Loggers continued their domination from the plate with a casual 10-spot in the 1st inning. Border Cats’ starter Dan McBryan (Iona) got two quick outs and looked to get out of the inning. Cullen Large (William & Mary) singled on a 2-2 pitch to give the Loggers their first baserunner of the game. Another single and a walk loaded the bases and that is when the flood gates burst for McBryan. Cesar Salazar (Arizona) brought in two runs with a line drive single to right field. With the bases loaded again, Kyle Plantier (UC-Santa Barbara) swept them clean with a triple off the left field wall. Gavin Johns (UCLA) followed him with a triple of his own. Griffin Conine (Duke) and Cullen Large capped off the big inning by homering on back-to-back pitches. Ben Hoffman (Monmouth) came into the game to replaced McBryan and finally ended the 1st inning. 10 straight Loggers reached base on 8 hits. Every batter in the the batting order scored during the inning.
Thunder Bay got a run in the 3rd after Bobby Honeyman (Stony Brook) led off the inning with a single and scored from 3rd on a RBI groundout by Michael Papierski (LSU).
The Border Cats loaded the bases with two outs in the 4th. Bobby Fulkerson (Southern New Hampshire) cleared the bases with a double to center field to bring the Loggers’ lead to 10-4.
Thunder Bay continued to edge their way back, scoring a run in the top of the 5th, but the Logger bats shut down that comeback with 7 runs on 4 hits in the bottom of the 5th and another in the 6th to make it 18-5.
The Border Cats’ defense struggled all game long, committing 9 errors in the game.
The Border Cats score two more runs, including a towering solo home run by Andy Weber (Virginia) in the 8th, but La Crosse was able to hold on for the 18-7 blowout victory
Jon Teaney (San Diego) gets the win (5-3) for the Loggers. He pitched 6 innings, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits. He walked 5 batters with 6 strikeouts.
Dan McBryan (Iona) takes the loss for the Border Cats (0-4). He lasted only two-thirds of an innings, giving up 10 runs on 8 hits. He walked 2 batters.
La Crosse wins their 7th straight game to move to 15-9 in the 2nd half (32-28 overall). With Willmar losing, the Loggers are now just a half game out of the final wild card spot. Thunder Bay drops to 9-16 in the 2nd half (15-44 overall). The Border Cats stay in town for one more night. Catch the game season series finale at the Lumberyard for a 7:05 first pitch.