La Crosse ended their five-game homestand with a tough loss Saturday, falling to Mankato for the second night in a row. Pitcher Will Watson, a Canadian and West Virginia Mountaineer, got the start. His first few innings were scoreless, but ran into command issues in the third, walking the bases loaded resulting in a 2 RBI single by Nick Altermatt and a pass ball run by Nathan Ebersole.  

The following inning, the MoonDogs loaded the bases once more, scoring two more runs on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly by Kai Roberts. Watson’s night was concluded after tossing 3.1 innings, in which he allowed 4 runs with 5 walks and 3 strikeouts.  

Newcomer Grady Gorgen, a Troy University commit, came in to pitch for the Loggers in relief. His debut was nothing short of stellar, eating up an ample 4.2 innings, in which he allowed no runs and struck out 7. The southpaw located his slider effectively, keeping it low in the zone and on the corners; a combination that proved troublesome for MoonDog hitters.  

The opposing starter, Donovan Schultz, also had a brilliant outing. The Evansville product was flawless for 6.0 innings, giving up no runs on just 2 hits and 9 strikeouts. Jarrett Blunt, Thomas Bruss, and Tyson Neighbors constructed a joint effort to shut the door out of the pen. They each tossed a scoreless inning to finish off a struggling Loggers squad.  

The Lumberman will travel to Rochester today to battle the Honkers. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05pm at Mayo Field.  

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The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 28th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 280 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.