La Crosse, Wisc. – 2,070 fans came out to Copeland Park for Cancer Survivors night and witnessed a thrilling 4-3 Loggers win over the Eau Claire Express.
The Loggers once again opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first as Eau Claire starter Conner Williar walked the bases loaded before recording his first out. Kedren Kinzie (Hawaii) got things started for the Loggers with a sac fly scoring Mikey Ryan III (LSU).
In the bottom of the 5th, Carson Ohland (GCU) came around to score after a fielder’s choice off of the bat of Eli Small (Kentucky).
Loggers Reliever, Ziegan Farley (BYU) came into a jam and eventually walked in the first run for the Express making the score 2-1 Loggers.
The Loggers quickly responded with a run of their own as Gavin Taylor (UNLV) came in to score on a wild pitch by Express pitcher Ben Llewellyn.
Eau Claire tied it up in the top of the 8th as Jake Busson scores on the single up the middle from Nick Mascaro. Howie Rickett tied things up as he played a bit of small ball, just putting it in play scoring Marcelino Alonso from third.
The Lumbermen sealed the deal in the bottom of the 8th thanks to a Mikey Ryan III sac fly scoring Eli Small.
Christian Banda (Long Beach St.) recorded the win striking out 3 batters in just 1.1 innings pitching and shutting down the Express in the 9th. Mateo Gray (UCF) had a solid second start as a Logger going 5.2 IP allowing just 1 earned run and striking out 7.
Despite only having 4 hits, the Loggers secured the W thanks to some small ball down the stretch and 9 walks issued by Express pitchers.
The Loggers are in action against the Duluth Huskies on June 5th and 6th and will return back to Copeland Park for a 4 game home stand starting with Thunder Bay on Saturday, June 7.