LA CROSSE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers secured their first win of the second half with a commanding 14-9 victory over the Duluth Huskies at Copeland Park in front of 1,750 fans.
Starting pitcher Nick Hanson (SUNY Cortland) set the tone for the Loggers, pitching two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, and striking out three.
Conversely, Huskies’ starter Gilbert Saunders (Harford) struggled, lasting only 1.2 innings and giving up five runs on three hits.
The Huskies initially took the lead in the top of the second inning with an RBI single from Michael Gabbard (Minnesota-Duluth), driving in Tyler Palmer (Nebraska Omaha), who reached base on a throwing error by Logger third baseman Luke Davis (Long Beach City). Palmer then stole second and advanced to third on another error by Logger catcher Kanon Sundgren (Weatherford).
The Loggers’ offense erupted in the bottom of the second inning, scoring nine runs. This offensive surge included an RBI hit-by-pitch for RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt), a two-RBI single from Elijah Ickes (Hawaii), another two-RBI single from Matt Miura (Hawaii), and a 401-foot grand slam by Derrick Mitchell (LSU), bringing the score to 9-1.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Loggers added another run with an RBI groundout by Matt Miura (Hawaii), extending their lead to 10-1.
Matt Miura continued his outstanding performance in the bottom of the fifth inning, hitting a solo home run to make it 11-1.
The Huskies attempted a comeback in the top of the seventh inning, scoring six runs, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Charlie Sutherland (Minnesota) and a grand slam by Ethan Cole (Minnesota-Duluth), narrowing the score to 11-7.
The Loggers responded in the top of the ninth inning with three more runs, courtesy of a home run by Luke Davis (Long Beach City) and a two-RBI single from RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt), making it 14-7.
The Huskies managed to score two additional runs in the bottom of the ninth, capitalizing on another error by Logger catcher Sundgren, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit, resulting in a final score of 14-9 in favor of the Loggers.
This victory improves the Loggers’ record to 23-17, while the Huskies fall to 20-21. The Loggers will return to Copeland Park tomorrow night to face the Huskies again for the second game of the series, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
