LA CROSSE, WI – In an exhilarating ten-inning contest at Copeland Park, the La Crosse Loggers edged out the Duluth Huskies 8-7 in front of a lively crowd of 1,835 fans.
Logger starter Ryan Troye (University of California, Santa Barbara) pitched three innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out three.
The standout performance came from the Logger bullpen, as Jah Acevedo (Elgin Community College), Maddax Peck (Brigham Young University), Luke Vaks (West Chester University), and Tyler Gebb (Long Beach State) combined for seven scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out ten batters.
For the Huskies, starter Rowen Barnes (University of California, Davis) struggled, allowing three runs on two hits in just one inning.
Reliever Same Kratz (Missouri Western State University) provided some stability, pitching three scoreless innings while allowing two hits and striking out two.
The Loggers wasted no time, opening the scoring in the first inning. Zach Wadas (Texas Christian University) drove in two runs with a single to center, followed by JT Kelenic (Grand Canyon University) bringing in another run after being hit by a pitch, giving the Loggers an early 3-0 lead.
The Huskies responded in the top of the second, tying the game at 3-3. Nolan Barry (Illinois State University) hit a sacrifice fly, and both Jake Downing (California Polytechnic State University) and Jayden Duplantier (University of Texas at Austin) scored on an error by Logger shortstop Sebastian David (Stanford University).
The Loggers regained the lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI groundout from Derrick Mitchell (Louisiana State University).
However, the Huskies answered with a four-run inning in the top of the fourth, highlighted by a two-run homer from Ethan Cole (University of Minnesota-Duluth) and RBI singles from Cardell Thibodeaux (Southern University) and Tyler Palmer (University of Nebraska Omaha), making the score 7-4 in favor of Duluth.
In the bottom of the fourth, Zach Wadas hit a solo home run to center, and JT Kelenic scored on an error by the Huskies’ shortstop, narrowing the gap to 7-6. The Loggers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on an infield hit by Wadas, driving in Ryan Kucherak.
The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the tenth inning when pinch runner Matt Miura (University of Hawaii) scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Kucherak, clinching the 8-7 victory for the Loggers.
With this win, the La Crosse Loggers improve their record to 27-21, while the Duluth Huskies fall to 24-24. The Loggers will face the Huskies again tomorrow at Copeland Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
