LA CROSSE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers secured a thrilling victory against the Mankato MoonDogs with a final score of 10-8 in front of a crowd of 1,904 fans at Copeland Park.
Nik Copenhaver (Vanderbilt) took the mound for the Loggers, pitching 1 inning and allowing 1 run on 1 hit while walking 2 batters. Will Girardi (Nevada Las Vegas) delivered a strong relief performance, pitching 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, and striking out 7.
For the MoonDogs, starter Aiden Mcgee (Minnesota State Mankato) pitched 2 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and issuing 3 walks. Peter Michael (Northwestern) provided solid relief, pitching 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, and striking out an impressive 10 batters.
The MoonDogs initiated the scoring with an RBI walk from Matthew Fleischhacker (Minnesota State Mankato) in the first inning.
The Loggers quickly responded with a 3-run inning, courtesy of an RBI single by Case Sanderson (Nebraska), a fielder’s choice RBI by Sebastian David, and an RBI single by Tyman Long (Southern Nevada), bringing the score to 3-1.
In the bottom of the second, Sanderson drove in Gable Mitchell (Iowa) with an RBI single, extending the Loggers’ lead to 4-1.
The MoonDogs narrowed the gap in the third inning with a 2-RBI double by Casey Sorg (Bellarmine), making it 4-3. They then tied the game in the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Brody Delamielleure (Florida State).
The Loggers reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a 2-run homer by Mitchell, making it 6-4.
The MoonDogs tied the game again in the seventh inning with an RBI single by Fleischhacker and a sacrifice fly by Josh Alexander (Louisiana Lafayette).
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the seventh when Zach Wadas (TCU) hit a grand slam to left center, propelling the Loggers to a 10-6 lead.
The MoonDogs added runs in the eighth and ninth innings, with an RBI double by Coleman Mizell (Alabama) and a run scored on a wild pitch by reliever Luke Vaks (West Chester). However, Vaks closed out the game dramatically, stranding runners on first and third to secure the Loggers’ 10-8 victory.
With this win the Loggers improve to 21-12, while the MoonDogs fall to 17-15. The Loggers are back at Copeland Park tomorrow for game 2 against the Mankato MoonDogs, first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
