LA CROSSE, WI – Rain was falling on Saturday night at Copeland Park as the Loggers got ready to do battle with the Thunder Bay Border Cats. The ball game, initially scheduled to be played at 6:35, was pushed back to 8:30. Many of the most dedicated Logger fans stuck around to take in this one.
The Border Cats scored first in the top of the first. Tyler Kehoe would break through after his no-hit performance on Friday with an RBI single during his first trip to the plate. Trey Lewis would later hit a sacrifice fly to score another run and Kehoe would run home after a passed ball, making the score 3-0 early.
It didn’t take long for the Loggers to respond. After two Logger batters advanced by hit-by-pitch and walk, Michael Dixon (Concordia-Irvine) said “Good bye ball” as he belted a shot over the wall in left field. His three-run home run would tie the game at three each.
Unfortunately for the Copeland Crazies who weathered the storm, that would be all the Logger offense could muster in this one. In the third inning, Tyler Kehoe would reach home once again, this time on a wild pitch, giving the Border Cats a 4-3 lead. Flashing forward to the seventh inning, Trey Lewis and Brayden Kuriger would both hit RBI singles to make the game 6-3 before a double by Patrick Engskov would plate two more making the score 8-3. That is where the score would stay for the rest of the night. The Border Cat bullpen was as brilliant as it has been all series. The Loggers could not get enough offense going after the Michael Dixon home run.
The Border Cats improve to 14-9 and sit alone atop the Great Plains East Division. The Loggers fall to 8-17, seven games out of first place. These two teams will play again on Sunday to wrap up the four-game series in La Crosse.
