LA CROSSE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers secured their fifth consecutive victory with a 6-4 triumph over the Thunder Bay Border Cats at Copeland Park, witnessed by 2,088 fans.
Loggers’ starting pitcher Brendan Moody (Louisiana at Lafayette) delivered a 4-inning performance, allowing 4 runs and striking out 3 batters.
Thunder Bay’s starter, Cole Poirrier (Nicholls State), pitched 2 innings, conceding 5 runs and striking out 3.
The game’s scoring began in the top of the 2nd inning when Ty Hamilton (Florida Southwestern State College) of Thunder Bay hit an RBI groundout, bringing in Greg LaChance (Illinois).
The Border Cats extended their lead in the 3rd inning with a sacrifice fly by Brody Chrisman (Purdue), driving in Lucas Terilli (Eastern New Mexico) to make it 2-0.
The Loggers responded in the bottom of the 3rd inning with a pivotal rally. Zach Wadas (TCU) delivered a 2-RBI single, followed by a 3-RBI double from Luke Anderson (BYU), propelling La Crosse to a 5-2 lead.
Thunder Bay narrowed the gap in the top of the 4th inning with an RBI double by Zane Skansi (Creighton) and an RBI single from Trey Fikes (Three Rivers College), making it a one-run game at 5-4.
However, the Loggers extended their lead in the bottom of the 4th inning with an RBI single from RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt), scoring Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) to finalize the score at 6-4.
Reliever Reece Bueter (Iowa) replaced Brendan Moody, pitching 4 scoreless innings and striking out 2.
Luke Vaks (West Chester) came in to close the game, securing the save and the win for the Loggers.
With this victory, the La Crosse Loggers improved their record to 15-9, while the Thunder Bay Border Cats fell to 13-12. The Loggers will host the Border Cats again tomorrow for game two of the series, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
