La Crosse, Wis. – Shane McGuire (San Diego) blasted a 370 foot home run to right-center field in the bottom of the ninth inning to give La Crosse the 5-4 victory over St. Cloud on Thursday night in front of 2,228 fans at Copeland Park.
The freshman catcher had an outstanding day at the Lumberyard, finishing the night 2-for-4 with 3 RBI raising his season batting average to an even .300 clip. McGuire started the scoring for the Loggers in the bottom of the first inning with a sacrifice fly, scoring Donta Williams (Arizona) who had reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the inning. Williams manufactured a second Loggers run in the third inning, reaching on a throwing error by the shortstop, swiping second base, and advancing to third on a fly out to left before hurrying home on a wild pitch to give La Crosse a 2-0 lead. Williams finished the night 1-for-3 with a walk, hit by pitch, two stolen bases, and three runs scored.
The Lumbermen would score on another wild pitch in the sixth inning as Kody Gardner (Sac City) scored the third run of the night after doubling to left field. Loggers’ starting pitcher Ian Bedell (Missouri) was stellar in his second start of the season, exiting with one out in the seventh inning and a 3-0 lead. Derek Lieurance (Iowa) and Bill Chillari (Duke) would pair up to finish the seventh inning, but not before surrendering the lead on four hits and two hit batters, giving the Rox a 4-3 lead. Bedell’s line completed with a no decision after 6.1 strong innings, as he was tabbed with two runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out two.
La Crosse answered with a run in their half of the seventh, tying the game at four after an RBI single from Shane McGuire plating Williams from second. McGuire would do it again in the bottom of the ninth, crushing the first pitch of the inning onto the roof of the Budweiser King’s Cabin and giving the Loggers their second walk-off victory of the season. Eddie Miller (North Florida) and Hunter Davis (Duke) were solid in relief, as Davis earned the win in his first appearance of the summer.
The Loggers (11-11) will look to sweep the Rox (12-11) tomorrow night on BirdZerk night presented by Performance Elite Gymnastics. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM CT at the Lumberyard with gates opening at 6:00.
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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