LA CROSSE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers secured a 5-2 victory over the Waterloo Bucks at Copeland Park in front of 1,702 fans.
The Loggers utilized an opener strategy, with Bobby McDonough (William and Mary) taking the mound for the first two innings. McDonough allowed one run on three hits.
Brendan Stanley (Maritime) provided an impressive relief performance, pitching 6.1 innings without allowing a run and surrendering just four hits.
Waterloo’s starter, Trey Castile (Simpson), delivered a solid outing, going six innings, allowing two runs on five hits, and striking out five.
The Bucks struck first in the opening inning when Marcus Heusohn (Illinois at Chicago) drove in a run with an RBI groundout.
The Loggers quickly responded in the bottom of the first, with RJ Hamilton (Vanderbilt) stealing his 40th base of the season and later scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.
Waterloo regained the lead in the top of the second when Cade Labruyere (LSU-Alexandria) scored on an error by Loggers center fielder RJ Hamilton.
However, the Loggers answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to left field by Landon Williams (Prairie View A&M), leveling the score at 2-2.
La Crosse took control of the game in the bottom of the sixth, when Luke Anderson (BYU) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, giving the Loggers a 3-2 lead.
The team added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on a two-RBI single by Elijah Ickes (Hawaii), extending the lead to 5-2.
The game was halted in the top of the ninth due to rain, and after an hour-long delay, it was officially called, sealing the Loggers’ win.
With this victory, the Loggers improve to 32-33 on the season, while the Bucks fall to 33-31. The Loggers will host the Bucks again tomorrow for the second game of the series, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.