LA CROSSE, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers concluded their tenth winning season in the past 12 years, finishing with a 37-35 mark, including a 20-16 mark in the season’s second half. The Loggers finished two games back of the Eau Claire Express in the second half standings of the Great Plains East division.
JT Schwartz (UCLA) won the 2019 Northwoods League batting title, hitting .378 over 196 at-bats, collecting 74 hits and driving in 35 runs. He was named a 2019 Northwoods League Post-Season All Star, and was named as the 2019 La Crosse Loggers Team MVP in a pregame ceremony before Sunday’s season finale. Schwartz became the third Loggers player to win the league batting title, joining Andrew Knapp in 2011 (.400) and Mason McCoy in 2015 (.367). He also appeared at seven positions, spending the majority of his time at first base, while also manning third base, second base, shortstop, left field, right field and throwing one inning on the mound during Sunday’s finale.
Ryan Holgate (Arizona) led the league in home runs with 13, including three in the final homestand of the regular season. Holgate drove in 53 runs, good for third in the league and tied for third in Loggers franchise history, trailing only the 61 runs driven in by Harrison Freed in 2018 and the 55 RBI from Michael Katz in 2013. Holgate also finished with 18 doubles to give him 31 extra base hits, good for third in franchise history behind Mason McCoy (34 in 2015) and Griffin Conine (32 in 2016). He was named as a mid-season and post-season NWL All Star, and earned the award as the Pepsi Silver Slugger as the Loggers’ best offensive player.
Relief pitcher Jared Freilich (Penn State) turned in a dominant summer, appearing in 23 games and recording a league-high 13 saves. He finished with a 1.60 ERA and opposing batters hit just .188 against him. He was selected as both a mid-season and post-season Northwoods League All-Star – pitching a scoreless inning during the July 16 All Star Game – and allowed earned runs in just four of his 23 appearances.
Leadoff hitter Cody Jefferis (San Diego) led the Loggers in a number of offensive categories, including games played (65), hits (79) and walks (46). He was a staple at the top of the order from the opening day of the season, singling in the first at-bat of the year on May 28 in Waterloo, and played second base, shortstop and center field on a regular basis. He was given the inaugural Mason McCoy Ironman Award prior to Sunday’s season finale.
The Loggers offense also set the team record for doubles in a season (133) and tied the franchise record for walks drawn (374),