La Crosse, Wisc. – It was Catbirds night at Copeland park, and La Crosse came away with the victory against Mankado 8-6 in front of 1788 fans.
AJ Curtis (UW – La Crosse) started the game on the mound for the Catbirds going 3 up, 3 down to open the game. The bottom of the frame opened with back to back walks from Kelsen Johnson (Georgia SW State) and returning Logger Savion Flowers (Kansas). Smart baserunning and a fielders choice would bring Johnson in to score, giving La Crosse the early 1-0 lead.
Mankato was quick to answer, getting on base via a defensive error, then crushing a 2-run home run to take the lead for themselves. The MoonDogs would start the 3rd with a lead-off double, followed shortly by a single and defensive error which would plate another runner. Up 3-1 going into the bottom of the 3rd, the Catbirds turned the tides.
The Loggers put up 7 runs in the inning, starting with a double from Savion Flowers. RBI hits from Eli Small (Florida Atlantic), Sebastian Hurtado (Central Florida), Stephen Chucka (Central Florida), Mana Lau Kong (Hawaii), Savion Flowers again, and lastly scoring on a past ball would give La Crosse the commanding 8-3 lead by the end of the eventful inning.
Curtis would find his grove, carving up batters for the next 3 innings, finishing with 6 innings of work while striking out 7. He gave up 3 runs on the mound, only 1 of which being earned.
Mankato would not go down easily, hitting a pair of solo homeruns in the 7th inning, along with scoring off a past ball in the 8th to narrow the deficit. Up 8-5, Dalton Smith (Iowa) came in to get the save for the Loggers. Smith wasted no time, striking out the only 3 batters he saw, completing the game for La Crosse on this special night.
Savion Flowers impressed in his season debut gathering a double, single, and a walk. Sebastian Hurtado also had a pair of hits, along with the team leading 2 RBIs.
La Crosse will rematch against the MoonDogs tomorrow in Mankato. First pitch is set for 6:35 and expected starter Sahil Patel (Ohio State) is set to get the nod for La Crosse.