LA CROSSE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers extended their winning streak to six games with a commanding 8-3 victory over the Thunder Bay Border Cats, completing a two-game sweep in front of 1,376 fans at Copeland Park.
La Crosse starter Michael Debattista (Dodge City CC) delivered a solid performance, pitching six innings, allowing three runs on five hits, and striking out seven.
Thunder Bay’s starter Julian Parson (South Carolina-Upstate) struggled, lasting only 1.1 innings and conceding four runs on six hits with two walks.
The Loggers quickly took the lead in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI double by Case Sanderson (Nebraska) driving in RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt).
The Loggers added three more runs in the second inning thanks to an RJ Hamilton fielder’s choice, a Matthew Miura (Hawaii) RBI single, and another RBI single by Case Sanderson.
Thunder Bay got on the scoreboard in the top of the third when Ty Brooks (South Alabama) hit into an RBI double play groundout, scoring Alex Urlaub (North Dakota State).
However, La Crosse responded in the bottom of the third with an RBI single by Elijah Ickes (Hawaii), driving in Derrick Mitchell (LSU).
The Border Cats added a run in the top of the fourth on a double steal, with Trey Fikes (Three Rivers College) scoring on a throw from Loggers catcher Luke Davis (Long Beach City).
Thunder Bay inched closer in the top of the sixth with a sac fly from Brody Chrisman (Purdue), making the score 5-3.
La Crosse extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh with a towering home run to right field by Derrick Mitchell and a sac fly by Case Sanderson, bringing the score to 7-3.
The Loggers added their final run in the bottom of the eighth on a Sebastian David (Stanford) RBI groundout.
Jed Decooman (UC Santa Barbara) provided two innings of hitless relief for the Loggers, striking out three. Ozzie Martinez (St. Thomas) closed out the game, securing the win. With this victory, the Loggers improve to 16-9, while the Border Cats fall to 13-13.
The La Crosse Loggers will travel to Duluth tomorrow to face the Huskies, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:35 p.m.
