La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers came out swinging the lumber on Monday night as they scored nine runs in five separate innings to beat the Willmar Stingers 9-4 in front of 2,060 fans at Copeland Park and Event Center.
The Lumbermen jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning started by back-to-back singles by Brandon Raquet (William & Mary) and Bryce Blaum (Texas A&M), putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Raquet would score on a passed ball, and Blaum later came around to score on an RBI groundout from Donta Williams (Arizona). The Stingers would answer in the top half of the fourth, scoring three runs off of Loggers’ starting pitcher Chas Sagedahl (Southeastern) to take the lead 3-2. Everything came with two outs in the inning for the Stingers as they strung together four straight hits, highlighted by an RBI double from Jayson Newman.
The Loggers did not wait around to regain the lead however, as Zion Pettigrew (Iowa) ripped a two RBI double over the leftfielder’s head to score Raquet and Blaum who reached on a base hit up the middle and bunt single, respectively. Sagedahl exited with the lead but did not qualify for a victory after battling through 4.0 innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out six. The Loggers’ bullpen would slam the door, collectively allowing just one run on four Willmar hits. Quentin Miller (Butler) earned his first victory of the season after tossing 2.0 innings in relief.
The Loggers would add an unearned run in the sixth on Korey Lee’s (Cal) RBI single to right field scoring Shane McGuire (San Diego) who reached on an error by the second baseman with two outs in the inning. McGuire was 2-for-4 on the night with a hit by pitch, stolen base, two runs scored, and a pair knocked in. The highlight of the night came from Loggers’ 7-8-9 hitters in the lineup – Raquet, Blaum, and Pettigrew – who combined to go 8-for-12 with five runs scored and three RBI in the victory. Jon Meyerring (Miami OH) and Cam Pferrer were dominant again at the back end of the La Crosse bullpen, combining for four strikeouts in the final three innings of the contest.
The Loggers improve to an 8-5 record, placing them just a half game out of first place in the North Division. La Crosse will travel to Rochester (8-6) tomorrow night for a quick two game set before returning to the Lumberyard for a pair of series against first and second place teams, Bismarck and Duluth, beginning on Thursday night.
The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.
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