La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers scored seven runs in the seventh inning to beat the Eau Claire Express 11-4 on Friday night. La Crosse has now won six games in a row, improving to 3-0 on the second half of the 2018 Northwoods League season.
The Express scored a run in the first but starting pitcher Hunter Davis (Duke) was able to escape an early jam. La Crosse answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI single from Shane McGuire (San Diego). McGuire went 4-for-5 on Friday night, collecting two RBI to improve his season total to team-leading 33.
The Loggers scored one run in each of the third, fourth, and fifth frames to take a 4-3 lead. Hunter Davis turned in 5.0 strong innings for La Crosse, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits, and leaving with the lead after facing a batter in the sixth frame. Ryan Anderson (Nevada) was outstanding in relief in his first appearance of the season, earning the victory after surrendering one run on one hit and striking out five over 4.0 innings of work.
The Loggers offense was fueled by a seven run seventh inning that included a go-ahead two-run double from Korey Lee (Cal), an RBI single from Braiden Ward (Washington), and a three-run home run from Bryce Blaum (Texas A&M) that capped off the decisive inning. Lee finished the night 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored while Ward went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and three runs scored at the top of the Loggers’ lineup. Harrison Freed (Butler) extended his hit streak to 17 games with a base hit in the fifth inning, and is now two games away from the Loggers franchise record (19).
The Loggers will look to make it seven in a row on Saturday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 PM CT against the Express. A special appearance from Milwaukee Brewers legend Cecil Cooper will highlight the night at the Lumberyard.