Loggers Begin 2024 Roster Building with a Trio of Returnees

LA CROSSE, WIS. – The defending Great Plains East Division Champion La Crosse Loggers began their 2024 roster compilation today when team officials announced the signing of three players who were members of the 2023 club that won 40 games and advanced to the Great Plains Championship game. La Crosse native Dylan Lapic (UT-Martin) will join a pair of Iowa Hawkeyes in Gable Mitchell and Justin Hackett in returning to La Crosse this summer.

Lapic, who played his high school baseball at La Crosse Central High School, will be returning home to be in Logger pinstripes for his third summer. The 6-3, 200-pound southpaw ranked second in appearances (13) while striking out 24 batters over 29 innings pitched last season. A two-time Ironman award winner (present from opening day through the last game), Lapic ranked third on the 2022 Logger pitching staff with 17 appearances and has logged 62.2 innings over the past two seasons. Lapic is back for his second year at UT-Martin after redshirting in 2023. Prior to that he was the ace of the staff at Milwaukee Area Technical College where he sported a 3-1 record with a 3.33 ERA over 12 appearances and made a team-high 10 starts.

University of Iowa sophomore infielder Gable Mitchell will also be returning to La Crosse’s northside looking to build off of a standout 2203 campaign. The switch-hitting Iowa City, Ia. native hit .273 and ranked third on the Lumbermen with 18 stolen bases over 41 games played last summer. Mitchell, who played second base, shortstop and third base for the Loggers, produced a 29:16 walks-to-strikeout ratio and sported an on-base percentage of .419 and his 33 runs scored ranked fifth on the club. A top 500 national recruit coming out of high school, Mitchell appeared in 33 games for the Hawkeyes as a freshman last spring and sported a .973 fielding percentage.

Right-hander Justin Hackett will be joining Mitchell in making the trek up north from the University of Iowa campus and returning to La Crosse. The 6-3, 220-pound hurler spent his freshman season at TCU where he made six appearances for the Horned Frogs striking out nine over 6.1 innings pitched. Hackett made three appearances for the Lumbermen last summer, striking out three over 5.1 innings pitched, prior to an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the summer. A top 250 national recruit coming out of Winterset Senior (Ia.) High School, Hackett was named the state of 2022 Iowa player of the year by Prep Baseball Report when he led the entire state in strikeouts.

Lapic, Mitchell, Hackett and the rest of the Loggers will open their 2024 campaign on May 27 when they travel west to Mankato, Minn. to take on the MoonDogs. The 2024 home opener is set for May 29 at Copeland Park & Events Center. Season tickets and ticket packages for the 22^ndseason of Loggers Baseball are on sale now with information available at www.lacrosseloggers.com or by calling the Loggers ticket office at 608-796-9553. Fans can also visit the Loggers office at 1225 Caledonia Street, La Crosse between 8:30-5, Monday thru Friday.

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The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 31^st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, 300 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.