WATERLOO, IA – The La Crosse Loggers were narrowly defeated by the Waterloo Bucks, 3-2, in a closely contested game at Riverfront Stadium before a crowd of 1,089 fans.
Loggers’ starter Tyler Albanese (San Jose State) delivered a strong performance, pitching seven innings while allowing two runs on four hits and striking out seven.
Waterloo’s Kyle Beaty (Florida Atlantic University) also put in a solid effort, going 5.1 innings, surrendering one earned run on eight hits, and recording five strikeouts.
The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning when Matt Miura (Hawaii) drove in Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) with a single to center field, giving the Loggers a 1-0 lead.
The Loggers extended their lead to 2-0 in the sixth inning with an RBI single by Landon Williams (Prairie View A&M University).
However, the Bucks responded in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game with a fielder’s choice groundout by Evan Morrison (McPherson College).
Waterloo took the lead in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Christian Smith (University of Illinois), making the score 3-2.
The Bucks held on to secure the victory, bringing their record to 32-28, while the Loggers fell to 30-31. The Loggers will return to Riverfront Stadium for their next game, with the first pitch set for 6:35 p.m