LA CROSSE, WI – In an exciting matchup at Copeland Park, the La Crosse Loggers edged out the Rochester Honkers with a 5-4 victory, advancing their record to 3-2 in front of a lively crowd of 2,269 fans.
The Loggers’ starting pitcher, Micah Worley (Modesto JC/Stony Brook), delivered an impressive performance, pitching four innings, allowing just two hits, and striking out six batters.
On the mound for the Honkers, Gabriel Aragon (McMurray U) lasted 3.1 innings, giving up four runs and striking out five. Aragon exited in the third inning with three runners on base.
Rochester took the early lead in the top of the fourth inning with sacrifice flies from Augusto Mungarrieta Lorenzo (Rochester CC) and Mattie Thomas (San Francisco), putting them up 2-0. However, the Loggers roared back in the bottom half of the inning. Derrick Mitchell’s RBI single, Cooper Brass’s 2-RBI single, and Cam Pruitt’s RBI single catapulted La Crosse to a 4-2 lead.
The Loggers added to their lead in the fifth inning when Zach Wadas blasted his first homer of the year to left center, marking the team’s first home run of the season.
The Honkers fought back in the eighth inning with RBI doubles from Mattie Thomas and Augusto Mungarrieta Lorenzo, narrowing the gap to 5-4. However, the Loggers’ closer, Tate Hess (Louisiana-Lafayette), shut down any hope of a comeback in the ninth. On just seven pitches, Hess retired Noah Rodriguez and Nico Defazio with groundouts and struck out Petey Craska to secure the win.
This victory boosts the Loggers’ record to 3-2, while the Honkers fall to 1-4. The two teams will face off again tomorrow at 6:35 PM for the second game of the series at the Lumberyard.
