La Crosse, Wisc. – The Waterloo Bucks take down the La Crosse Loggers in 10 innings, handing La Crosse their first loss of the season at Copeland Park.
Both starters got off to great starts, with Cody Kiemele (Grand Canyon) of the Loggers striking out the side, and Chris Peterson (St. Thomas) answered back sitting down three straight after giving up a lead off single to Joey Senstock (Nebraska). The starters would continue to pitch well, with the game remaining scoreless until the 4th inning.
The Loggers were the first to get on the board, as Kelsen Johnson (Georgia SW State) plated Max Kalk (Ball State) on an RBI single. The Logs would leave the bases loaded, leaving 3 stranded going into the fifth. Kiemele would throw his last inning in the 5th with yet another scoreless frame.
3 more runs score for the Lumbermen in the 6th, highlighted by an RBI single from Joey Senstock and a 2 RBI hit from Jose Lopez (Grand Canyon), extending the lead to 4-0.
Waterloo sparked a rally in the top of the 7th, starting with a walk from Jake Miller (Southeastern CC). The Bucks would score their first runs off a RBI double from catcher George Baker V (Louisville). A defensive error would keep the inning going, scoring another before a 2 RBI hit would tie the score.
Mason Beltrand (Winona State) would keep the score tied in the 8th. He would get 2 outs in the 9th before Christien Banda (Long Beach State) would throw 1 pitch to close out the inning. The Loggers would go 3 up, 3 down, sending the game to extra innings. After a productive groundout advancing the ghost runner, a sacrafice fly would give Waterloo the lead, resulting in the winning run for the Bucks.
Despite the loss, starter Cody Kiemele impressed with 5 shutout innings, striking out 7. Lead-off hitter Joey Senstock also had a solid game, finishing with 3 hits and 2 walks.
La Crosse will rematch Waterloo tomorrow night at 6:35 with expected starter AJ Curtis (UW – La Crosse) taking the mound. Gates open at 5:30 looking to get revenge against their divisional foe.