LA CROSSE, WI — Walk-off wonder! The La Crosse Loggers triumphed over the Green Bay Rockers with a thrilling walk-off grand slam by Luke Davis (Long Beach City), securing an 11-7 victory at Copeland Park in front of 1,751 fans.
Loggers’ starter Michael DeBattista (Dodge City CC) pitched 2.2 innings, allowing four runs. On the mound for the Rockers, Mikel Howell (Southern Arkansas) threw for 3.2 innings, striking out three while giving up three earned runs.
The Loggers ignited the scoring in the bottom of the first with a colossal 409-foot home run by Luke Davis (Long Beach City), bringing in Matt Miura (Hawaii).
The Rockers responded swiftly in the top of the second with a solo homer from Payton Mansfield (Jacksonville State).
In the top of the third, the Rockers surged ahead with three runs: Jake Bold (Princeton) hit an RBI single, Cooper Kelly (Oral Roberts) added an RBI ground out, and Corey Boyette earned an RBI walk, ending DeBattista’s outing. Reliever Nick Copenhaver (Vanderbilt) secured the final out of the inning.
The Loggers narrowed the gap in the bottom of the third when RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt) walked, advanced on a failed pickoff, and stole third. Matthew Miura’s groundout to shortstop brought Hamilton home, making it 4-3, Green Bay.
Green Bay extended their lead with an RBI single by Jake Bold (Princeton), driving in Sam Miller (Columbia). The Loggers, however, roared back in the bottom of the fourth with Miura’s bases-clearing triple, giving La Crosse a 6-5 lead.
Following a rain delay, the Rockers took the lead on an RBI ground out by Carson Hansen (UW-Milwaukee) and a fielding error by Loggers’ first baseman Zach Wadas (TCU) that allowed Jackson Kline (Kansas) to score from first.
The Loggers leveled the score in the bottom of the eighth on a wild pitch by Tysen Benford (Georgia State), allowing Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) to cross the plate.
In the dramatic bottom of the ninth, after two errors and a walk, Luke Davis stepped up and launched a towering blast onto Copeland Ave, sealing an 11-7 victory for the Loggers.
With this win, the Loggers improved to 6-3, while the Rockers fell to 1-7. The Loggers will return to Copeland Park tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. for game two against the Rockers.
