LA CROSSE, Wis. — The La Crosse Loggers struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning, but the bats were kept quiet after that as the Rochester Honkers grabbed a 5-2 victory in front of 3,011 fans on Saturday night at Copeland Park.
The Loggers (28-29, 11-10) collected three hits in the second inning, as JT Schwartz (UCLA), Trey Harris (Arkansas) and Matt Stinebiser (Duke) each singled to lead off the inning, and Schwartz came around to score on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Hunter Watson (Texas A&M). TJ Byrd (Young Harris) collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
The lead was not safe for long, as the Honkers (30-27, 12-10) got three runs off an RBI double by catcher Logan Denholm. Rochester added insurance runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
Nick Eaton took the loss for La Crosse (3-4, 3.88 ERA), despite striking out a season-high seven batters through five innings. Jon Meyerring (Miami of Ohio) added 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, and Colin Shreves (Baylor) pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Schwartz finished 2-for-4 for the day, raising his season average to .383. The Loggers and Honkers square off again today at 5:05 pm.
