LA CROSSE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers delivered a dominant offensive performance, defeating the Eau Claire Express 22-7 at Copeland Park in front of 1,425 fans. The Loggers collected 22 runs on 18 hits, improving their record to 30-30 on the season.
Logger starter Ryan Troye (Cal Santa Barbara) struggled with control, lasting just 2.2 innings while allowing six runs on four hits. He issued three walks and struck out five.
On the other side, Eau Claire’s starter Evan Esch (St. Thomas) was unable to make it out of the first inning, giving up seven runs on six hits.
La Crosse wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, exploding for nine runs in the first inning. The scoring barrage included RBI singles from Mitch Wood (Northern Kentucky), Tyler Smith (St. Peters), and Zach Wadas (TCU), an RBI fielder’s choice from Cooper Brass (New Mexico), a three-run homer by Ian Collier (Texas State), and a two-run single by RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt).
Eau Claire responded in the second inning, taking advantage of Troye’s control issues. The Express scored three runs, with Dylan Knowles driving in one on a single, Brig Richartz (St. Thomas) adding another RBI single, and Brady Reynolds (Stanford) bringing home a run on a groundout.
Eau Claire added three more runs in the third inning, narrowing the deficit to 9-6.
However, the Loggers extended their lead in the bottom of the third with a two-run double by Case Sanderson (Nebraska), making it 11-6.
La Crosse continued to add to their tally, with two more runs in the fourth inning on a single by Matt Miura (Hawaii) and another run in the fifth on a groundout by Tyler Smith.
The Loggers further padded their lead in the sixth inning with an RBI walk from Miura, a sacrifice fly by Hamilton, and another RBI groundout by Sanderson, bringing the score to 17-6.
Eau Claire managed to add one more run in the seventh on an RBI groundout from Brady Blake, but La Crosse put the game out of reach with five additional runs in the eighth, highlighted by a three-run homer from Smith.
With the victory, the Loggers now head to Waterloo to take on the Bucks, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.