EAU CLAIRE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers got their 2023 season off on the right foot on Monday night when then topped the host Eau Claire Express by a final score of 8-3 in front of 2,468 fans at Carson Park.

A four-run second inning propelled the Lumbermen to an early lead that they would never relinquish.  After a pair of singles to open the frame by Blaise Priester (Meridian CC) and Brandon Hager (Arkansas State), Seth Cox (Memphis) delivered a two-run single to plate the first runs of the season.  Later in the inning, Matthew Piotrowski (Cal-State LA) delivered an RBI single as well.

That support was all that Loggers starter Josh Leerssen (Birmingham-Southern) would need as he went on to toss six innings of one run (unearned) baseball, limiting the Express to two hits while walking four and striking out six.  Sam Hart (Iowa) would come on to toss the final three frames to earn his first save of the season.

Priester led the way for the Loggers at the plate with three hits, including his first home run of the season, and drove in a pair.  Piotrowski and Hager each recorded two hit nights for the Loggers who tallied ten hits as a team.

The same two teams will meet up again on Tuesday night, but the opening series of 2023 heads south to the friendly confines of Copeland Park when La Crosse hosts Eau Claire for a 6:35 pm affair.

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