LA CROSSE, WI – The first half of the Northwoods League season has come to a close. While the Loggers certainly did not plan on being at the bottom of their division at the halfway mark, they did finish the first half on a high note.
Scoring in Monday night’s game would not begin until the top of the third inning. Two Hot Tot batters would single and a passed ball would bring a runner to third. Tristan Moore would hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the first run of the game. Minot would go up by another run in the fifth inning with a bases-loaded walk.
Things would get a little more wild in the sixth. Two singles and a walk would load the bases as Jackson Cobb (Kansas) stepped to the plate. The second pitch of the at-bat would be wild allowing Austin Smith (San Diego) to score. As the Hot Tot catcher searched for the ball by the backstop, Matthew Piotrowski (Cal State LA) sprinted toward home. Once he found the ball, the throw from the catcher to the pitcher covering home plate was late as Piotrowski slid safely home to tie the game. I am not sure if the throw was wide or if the pitcher lost the ball in translation, but it flew toward and landed in the Logger dugout. Blaise Priester (Meridian CC) had scampered to third by that time and was awarded home as the ball went out of play. With one fell swoop the Loggers had taken the lead 3-2.
The Lumbermen would get some insurance in the bottom of the eighth. Smith would be hit by a pitch to begin the inning, Piotrowski would double to put runners on second and third, and Priester would walk to load the bases. After an out, Gable Mitchell (Iowa) would step to the plate and shoot a ball down the right field line all the way to the visitor dugout. His blazing speed got him to third before he held up as the ball came into the infield. Though the play was not an inside-the-park home run, the damage had been done and the score was 5-2.
Logger reliever Sam Hart (Iowa) would throw two scoreless inning to secure the save for the Loggers. Fans at Copeland Park were ringing the victory bell to close out the first half of the season. Both the Hot Tots and the Loggers finished at the bottom of their respective divisions. They will look to improve in the second half. The Loggers will spend July 4th in Rochester before coming back to La Crosse for a home game against the Honkers on July 5th.
