LA CROSSE, WI – In front of 2,691 fans at Copeland Park, the La Crosse Loggers fell to the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders in the second game of their two-game series, with a final score of 13-7.
Tyler Albanese (San Jose State), the starting pitcher for the Loggers, completed 5 innings, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits while striking out 2.
His counterpart, Caleb Granger (Florida A&M) of the Dock Spiders, pitched 3 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 2.
The Loggers took an early lead in the bottom of the third inning, scoring two runs on an RBI single from Elijah Ickes (Hawaii), who later scored on a passed ball, making it 2-0.
The Dock Spiders quickly responded in the top of the fourth, scoring three runs courtesy of an RBI single from Garrett Hietpas (Winona State), an RBI groundout from Caden Shapiro (Princeton), and a sacrifice fly from Preston Knott (Northwestern), taking a 3-2 lead.
The Loggers regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs with a Matt Miura (Hawaii) RBI walk and a Cooper Brass (New Mexico) 2-RBI single.
The Dock Spiders added one run in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Tyler Stack (Xavier), but the Loggers extended their lead in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly by Elijah Ickes (Hawaii), making it 6-4.
However, the Dock Spiders surged ahead in the top of the sixth, scoring five runs highlighted by a 2-run homer from Preston Knott, an RBI single from Connor Cooney, an RBI walk from Tyler Stack, and an RBI single from Garrett Hietpas, pushing the score to 9-6.
The Loggers added one more run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI walk from Case Sanderson (Nebraska), narrowing the gap to 9-7.
The Dock Spiders secured their victory in the top of the ninth, adding four more runs. Caden Shapiro contributed an RBI groundout, Garrett Hietpas scored on a wild pitch, and Adam Cootway hit a 2-run homer to left field, finalizing the score at 13-7.
With this defeat, the Loggers drop to 28-27 for the season, while the Dock Spiders improve to 21-34. The Loggers will now travel to Rochester to face the Honkers, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
