LA CROSSE, WI – After the rollercoaster that was Friday night’s game, it seems only natural that Saturday would bring the Loggers back down to earth.
There would be no runs in this game until the fourth inning. The starting pitchers for both teams, Bismarck’s Alec Danen and La Crosse’s Austin Smith (San Diego), both had solid, scoreless outings going into the fourth inning. In the top of the fourth, Smith would allow three walks to Lark batters, ending his outing on the mound. Logger reliever Dylan Kirkeby (Northwestern College IA) would be tasked with getting out of the bases-load jam. The first run of the game would score as Luke Boykin was hit by a pitch. The following Lark batter, Nick Johnstone, would double to bring in another two runs. Benjamin Rosengard would ground out to the shortstop while driving in the fourth run before Nick Oakley singled for run number five. Two more walks would load the bases for Brock Kleszcz who hit a towering grand slam over the wall in left field. The Larks would strike for nine runs in the fourth on only three hits.
The Loggers began the bottom of the sixth with an out, a walk, a fielder’s choice, and a single to put two men on with two men out. Cooper Lipski, television and radio voice of the Loggers this season causally predicted that Dylan King (North Carolina) would hit a three-run home run to cut the lead by a third. King stepped into the batter box and delivered on the prediction by belting a ball to right field for the first Logger “Bluff Blast” of the season. The margin in the score was still wide, but there was also still time to play.
In the top of the seventh, the Larks decided to answer the Loggers’ three runs with three runs of their own. The first of the three runs came in unearned before Nick Johnstone hit his second home run in two days drive in two and make the score 12-3. In the bottom of the seventh, Ben Zeigler-Namoa (Hawaii) would double to drive in a run. In the bottom of the eighth, Dylan King would race home to score on a wild pitch and with the bases loaded, another hit by pitch would bring in the second run of the inning. The score sat at 12-6 after eight, and that is exactly where it would stay for the rest of the night. Lark pitcher Carter Rost would come in and face four batters to get three outs and end the game. Bismarck would win 12-6.
The Larks improve to 15-17 as they continue to play behind the division-clinching Willmar Stingers in the Great Plains West. The Loggers fall to 11-21, still eight games out of first place in the Great Plains East. The Loggers will remain in La Crosse for a their first-ever home series against the Minot Hot Tots of Sunday and Monday.
