The La Crosse Loggers secured a victory over the Eau Claire Express this evening in a game that ended up being too close for comfort.
Chase Chatman (Florida SW), the Loggers’ reliable left-hander, made his fifth start of the season. The Southpaw registered yet another strong outing, earning the win and lowering his ERA to 3.38. Chatman’s night nearly ended early when he found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the 5th inning. However, he was able to buckle down and work out of trouble, concluding the inning with a lazy fly out to right field.
Despite out hitting the Lumberman, 13 to 8, the Express were unable to follow through in a nerve-racking final inning. Following a flurry of offense which produced 3 runs, Eau Claire found themselves down a run in the 9th. Jake Gebb (UC-Riverside) came in to close it out, leaving runners stranded by forcing a groundout to Benjamin Rosengard (Rice). Joe Yorke (Cal Poly) led his squad offensively, having a 3-hit performance.
Jack Brown (Minnesota State-Mankato) started for the Express and his struggles continued, especially facing the Loggers. While pitching against his divisional rival, he owns a 9.28 ERA through 3 contests. Will Rizzo (Texas A&M) and Luke Trahan (Dallas Baptist) both appeared in relief, each getting tagged for 2 runs.
The Loggers’ offense began early, with 2 runs coming in the 1st inning due to a 2-run homer by Landon Wallace (West Virginia) to the opposite field. Wallace went on to gain more hits, including a double off the wall in right field. In total, the most recent Mountaineer ended up going 3-3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Also contributing was Jordan Donahue (Hawaii), who collected a couple hits and an RBI.
The Lumberman head to St. Cloud tomorrow as they begin a two-game series with the Rox. The first pitch is slated for 7:05pm CT at Joe Fabor Field. Fans can watch live on ESPN+ 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.