Contact: Colton Andresen, Media Relations
The La Crosse Loggers lost the series opener by a score of 17-10 despite out-hitting the Duluth Huskies 12-10 on Thursday night in front of 2,925 fans at Copeland Park.
A struggling Loggers pitching staff surrendered nine walks and issued ten wild pitches in the loss, paired with five errors in the third game of the season. The scoring came early and often as the Huskies took a quick 3-0 lead in the first on a 3-run home run from Carter Putz. The Loggers responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half, fueled by a lead-off single by Cody Jefferis (San Diego), RBI base hit from TJ Byrd (Young Harris), and 2-run home run from Kyson Donahue (Arizona). It was Donahue’s first home run of the season, a line shot to right field as the returning Logger is off to a sizzling start with a 1.792 OPS.
After the clubs traded a run in the second, La Crosse would take a 7-4 lead in the third with a bases-clearing double from Brady Allen (South Carolina). The lead would not last, however, as the Huskies scored seven in the fifth and three in the sixth to pull away.
Loggers’ reliever Nick Johnson (Southwest Tennessee CC) was tagged with the loss after allowing seven runs (two earned) in 1.1 innings of work. La Crosse was led offensively by Allen (2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB) and Donahue (2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) while Jefferis, Brett Hawkins (Young Harris), and Jackson Murphy (Coastal Alabama CC) each added two hits.
The Loggers will look to split the series against Duluth on Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. The 2019 magnet schedule giveaway and the first of seven fireworks nights at Copeland Park is presented by Pepsi and Toro.
