LA CROSSE, WI – Three in a row! The La Crosse Loggers swept the Rochester Honkers with a thrilling 6-5 victory at Copeland Park in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 2,355 fans.
Loggers’ starter Tyler Albanese (San Jose State) delivered a solid performance, pitching 4 innings on 73 pitches, striking out 5, and allowing just one run.
On the other side, Rochester’s starter Sadier Vicioso (Stony Brook) pitched 4 innings on 70 pitches, striking out 1, and conceding 4 runs.
The Honkers struck first with a powerful home run from Mattie Thomas (San Francisco), which left the bat at 103 MPH and traveled 386 feet. However, the Loggers quickly responded in the bottom of the 1st inning. RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt) hit an infield single, followed by an RBI triple from Zach Wadas (TCU), then an RBI single by Luke Davis (Long Beach City) to put the Loggers ahead.
In the bottom of the 3rd inning, the Loggers added another run with an RBI single from Cooper Brass (New Mexico). The scoring continued in the 4th inning with an RBI double from RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt), driving in Cam Pruitt (Wharton CC), making it 4-1.
The Honkers fought back in the top of the 5th, scoring two runs courtesy of a Joey Craska (Georgia Tech) walk and an Augusto Mungarrieta Lorenzo (Rochester CC) walk, narrowing the gap to 4-3.
The Loggers extended their lead in the bottom of the 6th inning with a Derrick Mitchell (LSU) RBI single and a Cooper Brass (New Mexico) RBI walk, bringing the score to 6-3.
In the top of the 7th, the Honkers added two more runs with an Augusto Mungarrieta Lorenzo (Rochester CC) 2-RBI double, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Loggers.
Tate Hess secured his second save in as many days, clinching the win for the Loggers.
With this victory, the Loggers have won their third consecutive game, improving their record to 4-2. The Rochester Honkers fall to 1-5. The Loggers will now head to Waterloo for a 2-game series with the Bucks. Tomorrow’s game starts at 1:05 p.m.
