La Crosse, Wisc.- Two solo home runs help Thunder Bay take the opening game of the 2016 second half over La Crosse, 5-2.
Garrett Zech (South Florida) struck first for the Loggers with an out in the 1st. He reached on a walk and moved to 3rd base on his 18th and 19th stolen bases of the season, which is 2nd in the Northwoods League. He scored on a Griffin Conine (Duke) single to right field.
Thunder Bay tied the game up in the 4th inning. Ontario native, Mitch Bigras (Boston College) led off the inning with a line drive double down the right field line. Two batters later, he scored on a groundout to the third baseman by Andrew Fregia (Sam Houston State).
Michael Papierski (LSU) continued the momentum for the Border Cats the next inning with a leadoff walk. He scored from 1st base on a deep double to left-center by Andy Weber (Virginia). Weber came into score two batters later on an infield single by Joe Gellenbeck (Xavier).
La Crosse got a run back after Cullen Large (William & Mary) doubled to open the bottom of the 6th. He came into score on a groundout by Loggers’ first baseman Kyle Plantier (UC-Santa Barbara), cutting the Border Cat lead to one run.
That advancement was quickly erased the next inning by a solo shot by Michael Papierski (LSU), off the roof of the Interstate Roofing Home Run Haven Cabin. Andrew Fregia added on to the lead with a home run for himself, just to the left of the Gordy’s Cabin in right-center.
Tom Mullin (Penn State) came into pitch in relief of Langan in the 6th and went the rest of the way, picking up his 1st save of the season. He gave up 1 run on just 2 hits in 4 innings. Thunder Bay took the second half opener, 5-2.
Brandon Langan (New Mexico) finally gets his first win of the season (1-5) with 5 innings of work. He gave up 1 run on 6 hits. He walked 2 and got 1 strikeout.
Andrew Perez (South Florida) pitched well, but took his first loss (1-1) of the season. He went 5.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. He walked 3 and struck out 2 Border Cats.
La Crosse drops both half openers of the season (0-1), with a 17-20 overall record. That would make it their 3rd straight loss of the season as well. Thunder Bay earns a winning record for the first time this season (1-0) after an ugly first half to land with a 7-28 overall record. The Loggers get a chance at revenge tomorrow night against the Border Cats. Game time is 7:05. Make sure to bring your mobile device for Social Media Night! You will use it for promotions all night long!
