WATERLOO, IA – The La Crosse Loggers improved to 6-1 in the second half of the 2018 NWL season with a 7-6 victory over the Waterloo Bucks at Riverfront Stadium on Monday night.
La Crosse jumped out early in this one when Braiden Ward (Washington) reached on an error to lead off the game, stole second and then came around to score on an RBI double from Bryce Blaum (Texas A & M) to give the Loggers an early 1-0 lead. They would extend that lead to 3-0 in the second inning thanks to a two-RBI double from Ward.
The lead would grow to 5-0 in the fourth thanks to another RBI from Ward and another RBI double from Blaum as Loggers starter Grant Judkins cruised into the bottom of the fourth.
A series of miscues by the Logger defense though would allow the Bucks to climb back into the game as they put up three unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 5-3 and knock Judkins out of the game.
The Lumbermen would tack another run on the fifth thanks to a two-out, RBI single from Jarron Silva (UCLA) to push their lead to 6-3. But Waterloo would not go away as they would push one across in the sixth off of reliever Jon Meyerring (Miami-OH) and then two more unearned runs in the seventh, aided by more Logger errors to tie the game at six.
The score would remain knotted until the top of the ninth when Mike Rothenberg (Duke) would lead off the inning with a solo home run to give the Loggers a 7-6 lead going to the bottom of the ninth. That’s when newcomer Chase Whitaker (Merced College) would enter the game and promptly strike out the side to record his first save and secure the Loggers victory.
La Crosse will now travel north to Duluth to embark on a two-game set with the Huskies beginning on Tuesday night. Air time on the Logger Radio Network is set for 6:00 pm with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.