The La Crosse Loggers were defeated by their divisional rival last night, the Eau Claire Express, in a close contest.
Coming off a complete game in his last outing, Connor Harrison (Hawaii) got his third start for the Lumberman. The southpaw had a clean first couple innings, then allowed runs in the following 4 frames. On the night, Harrison tallied 5.2 innings, surrendering 4 earned runs on 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.
Grady Gorgen (Troy) kept his team in the ballgame by pitching 2.1 scoreless innings in relief, however, the Loggers’ offense was unable to mount a late rally.
Sam Kuchinksi (Montevallo) and the Conn brothers; Cole and Clay (UIC), had the bats going for the Express. Leading his team in hits, Kuchinksi went 3-4 with a double and an RBI. Cole Conn went 2-4 with a double and an RBI, while Clay Conn also hit a double and scored twice.
Ben Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) started for Eau Claire. Coming into the ballgame, the Minnesota native had allowed just one run through 19.0 innings of work. Through 6.0 innings, he gave up 4 earned runs and got the win, advancing his record to 3-1.
The Express received excellent help from their bullpen. Trevyn Badger (Minot State) and Matt Helwig (Lewis) tossed a collective 3.0 scoreless frames to close it out.
Compared to their recent production, the Loggers’ offense was lackluster. They conjured up just 5 hits on the evening. Luke Leto was a bright spot, going 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs. His second long ball of the season came in the 6th inning, where the Loggers produced 3 runs but none after.
The Lumberman return home this afternoon to battle the Express once more.
There will be “Baseball Bingo” with Kwik Trip at Copeland Park, in which all fans will receive a bingo card to use throughout the ballgame. Winners will be awarded a coupon for free glazer donuts at the end of the night. The first pitch is set for 5:05pm CT on the north side of La Crosse.
Fans can watch live at https://northwoodsleague.com/watch-nwl/ or listen live at https://mixlr.com/lacrosseloggers.
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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.
