EAU CLAIRE, WI – Three Logger pitchers combined to strike out 18 Eau Claire batters en route to a 2-1 victory on Friday night at Carson Park in Eau Claire to help the Lumbermen improve to a 4-0 start.
Cam Baumann (Iowa) was brilliant in his first start of the summer as the southpaw tossed five innings of three-hit baseball, surrendering only one unearned run while walking one and striking out nine to earn the win. Eddie Miller (North Florida) followed with a pair of scoreless innings to preserve the Loggers 2-1 lead before turning it over to Cam Pferrer (Missouri) to close the door in the eighth and ninth innings. Pferrer not only slammed the door, he recorded seven strikeouts in two innings with the only base runner reaching via a wild pitch on a strikeout. In two appearances on the young season, Pferrer has totaled eleven strikeouts in four innings.
Eau Claire actually led this game early when they pushed across an unearned run in the fourth before the Loggers answered with two runs in the sixth via bases loaded walks.
Pitching dominated the night as both teams tallied only four hits each. La Crosse received safeties from Shane McGuire (San Diego), Jordan Holladay (South Carolina), Grant Judkins (Iowa) and Zion Pettigrew (Iowa).
The Loggers will now return home to the friendly confines of Copeland Park to begin a two-game set with the Rochester Honkers. Game time on Saturday is set for 6:05 p.m. with gates opening at 5:00 p.m. The first 1,000 fans will receive a 2018 Magnet Schedule from Mountain Dew KickStart and there will be a Fireworks Extravaganza to follow the ballgame, presented by CenturyLink.
