DULUTH, MN – The La Crosse Loggers were defeated by the Duluth Huskies 8-4 at Wade Stadium before an audience of 515 fans.
Loggers’ starter Nik Copenhaver (Vanderbilt) pitched 5.1 innings, allowing 5 runs and striking out 3 batters.
Huskies’ starter Gilbert Saunders (Harford) delivered a solid performance, pitching 3.0 innings without conceding any earned runs and giving up just 2 hits.
The Huskies initiated their scoring in the bottom of the 3rd inning with a sacrifice fly from Jayden Duplantier (University of Texas at Austin), bringing in Charlie Sutherland (University of Minnesota).
Duluth’s offensive momentum continued with a 5-run surge in the bottom of the 6th inning. This offensive burst featured an RBI double by Brady Sullivan (Texas A&M), driving in Duplantier, followed by an RBI walk from MJ Sweeney (Grossmont College) that scored Cardell Thibodeaux. Further contributions included an RBI single from Reagan Reeder (University of Illinois), driving in Sullivan, an RBI single from Sutherland, driving in Sweeney, and an RBI single from Ethan Gonzalez (Blinn JC), driving in Reeder.
The Loggers responded in the top of the 7th inning with an RBI single from Gable Mitchell (Iowa), scoring Cooper Brass (University of New Mexico).
However, the Huskies extended their lead in the bottom of the 7th with a run scored on a wild pitch by Dylan Lapic (UT-Martin) and a sacrifice fly from Sweeney, driving in Sullivan.
La Crosse added another run in the top of the 8th inning with an RBI single from Luke Anderson (BYU), driving in Tyman Long (College of Southern Nevada).
In the bottom of the 9th, the Loggers loaded the bases with two outs. JT Kelenic (GCU) came to bat, and a wild pitch from Duluth reliever Liam Thompson (Cisco JC) allowed Mitchell and Matthew Miura (Hawaii) to score, bringing the tally to 8-4. However, Thompson struck out Kelenic to end the game.
With this loss, the Loggers’ record drops to 8-6, while the Huskies improve to 8-6. Saunders earned the win, improving to 1-2, while Copenhaver took the loss, falling to 0-2 for the season. The Loggers will face the Huskies again tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm.
