LA CROSSE, WI – The Bucks and the Loggers finished the first half of the season in fifth and sixth place in the Great Plains East Division. The world has flipped on its head as two weeks through the start of the second half, both teams have found themselves at the top of the division standings. The Bucks and the Loggers were arguably the hottest teams in the Northwoods League coming into Saturday night. With the Bucks coming to Copeland Park, it was time to see which team was truly the hottest.
The Loggers scored first in the bottom of the first. With two men on, Ethan Frey hit a two-RBI double to make the score 2-0. In the second inning, a sacrifice fly from Mic Paul and a double by Justin DeCriscio would plate two more. Both teams would add one more to their run totals before the fourth inning, including a solo home run by Troy LaNeve, making the score 5-1 Loggers after three.
The Bucks would increase their side of the score to three on an RBI fielder’s choice by Drew Donaldson and a wild pitch that allowed Brandon Fish to score. The Loggers would have an answer for both runs however as a double steal brought Gable Mitchell home and a wild pitch allowed DeCriscio to score. In the sixth inning, with the score 7-3, DeCriscio would score once again on a wild pitch.
The most exciting inning was undoubtedly the seventh. A single by Matthew Piotrowski would drive one in, doubles by Jackson Cobb and Gable Mitchell would bring in three more, Gable Mitchell would score from third on a 6-3 putout of Justin DeCriscio, and Ethan Frey would single to drive in the sixth run of the inning. The Loggers had broken the game wide open and made the score 14-3 after seven.
The Bucks would bring in two more runs and the Loggers would bring in one more before the final out. With a final score of 15-5, the Loggers had shown, at least for one night, who the hottest team in the Great Plains is. Both teams are set for a rematch at 5:05 on Sunday night. After Saturday, the Bucks drop to 11-2 while the Loggers improve to 10-1. Both teams share first place in the Great Plains East Division, but the Loggers have the better win percentage, which sets them in first place, somewhere they have not been since early June. With the win, the Loggers also improve to 23-22 overall on the season, the first time they’ve been above .500 since June 2nd.
