LA CROSSE, WI – After the Eau Claire Express defeated the La Crosse Loggers on Thursday in Eau Claire, the two clubs would be back at it again on Friday night, this time at Copeland Park.
Scoring began in the Logger half of the first. After a walk and a single put runners at first and third, Dylan King hit into a double play that brought the runner from third home. In the bottom of the second, Aidan Sweatt would single then advance to second base so Gable Mitchell could bring him in with his own single to make the game 2-0. The Express answered back in the top of the third as Dylan O’Connell grounded out with the bases loaded, making the score 2-1.
The Loggers would keep it rolling into their half of the third. With one man on, Ben Zeigler-Namoa sent a ball way back into the cabins in right-center field to make the game 4-1. It was Zeigler-Namoa’s second home run of the season and first at Copeland Park. The Express would tack on two runs of their own in the fourth with RBIs from Rayth Petersen and Camden Ross.
The middle of the game belonged to La Crosse. After scoring one in the bottom of the fourth, the Lumbermen brought in two runs in the fifth with RBIs from Danny Neri and Aidan Sweatt. In the sixth, two runs would score as Shaun Montoya reached on an error by the first baseman. Another run would cross the plate with a sacrifice fly by Zeigler-Namoa. After six, the score was 10-3 in favor of La Crosse.
The Express would plate two more in the top of the eighth, but their small comeback would not be enough to top the runs scored by their opponents. All-star reliever Tony Pluta was given the keys to the ninth inning and closed the Express down like he was expected to. With the win, the Express fall to 7-11 in the second half standings. They won the Great Plains East Division in the first half, so their ticket to the postseason has already been punched. For the Loggers, the win propels them to 13-3, the best record in the Northwoods League second half and one game ahead of Waterloo for first place in the division. The Loggers will head back to Eau Claire to face the Express for the third game of the series on Saturday before heading home to La Crosse to finish out the series on Sunday at 5:05.
