LA CROSSE, WI – In front of a lively crowd of 1,936 fans at Copeland Park, the La Crosse Loggers fell to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, 5-3.
Tyler Albanese (San Jose State) delivered a stellar performance on the mound for the Loggers, pitching five innings, striking out seven, and allowing just one run.
Meanwhile, the Rafters’ starter, Nick Paulsen (UW-Stevens Point), pitched three innings and gave up two runs.
The Loggers opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a powerful two-run homer from Ryan Kucherak (LSU), bringing home Luke Davis (Long Beach City) after his leadoff walk. Cam Pruitt (Wharton CC) singled and advanced to second on an error by the Rapids’ left fielder. Gable Mitchell (Iowa) then singled to center field, driving in Pruitt and extending the Loggers’ lead.
The Rafters responded in the top of the fourth with an RBI single from Greyson Shafer (BYU), who brought in Jorge De Goti (Nova Southeastern).
In the top of the sixth, Logan Runde (FIU) relieved Albanese but surrendered a home run to the first batter he faced, Jorge De Goti, making it a 3-2 ball game in favor of the Loggers.
The Rafters took control in the top of the eighth inning with a sacrifice fly from De Goti and a two-RBI single from Jake Beauchaine (Saddleback College). Luke Vaks (West Chester) was called upon to get the final out of the inning.
The Loggers showed signs of life in the bottom of the ninth. RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt) walked and stole two bases but ultimately, the team couldn’t bring him home.
With this loss, the Loggers drop to 8-6 on the season while the Rafters improve to 7-6. Jack Wiessinger (Pomona Pitzer) earned his first win of the year, and Juan Berrios (Alabama State) secured his first save. The Loggers will now head to Duluth to face the Huskies in a two-game series, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
