Waterloo, Iowa – The La Crosse Loggers put up another big game with an 8-1 victory over the Waterloo Bucks in Riverfront Stadium.
The Loggers struck first in the 3rd inning. Two singles and an error loaded the bases for Griffin Conine (Duke). He grounded out to shortstop, but a bobble on the fielding attempt allowed Mason McCoy (Iowa) to avoid the double play at 2nd base and more importantly, score Gavin Johns (UCLA) from 3rd base. Cullen Large (William & Mary) followed him with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Luke Farley (Iowa) to give the Loggers a 2-0 lead.
With that at-bat, Mason McCoy passed former Logger Bobby Juan (2011-2013) for most at-bats in a career with his 526th.
McCoy led off the 5th inning and hit a grounder down the 3rd base line. Before kicking foul, it was touched by the third baseman Luke Barry (Augustana) and bounced towards the wall. The error allowed McCoy to reach 2nd base. He moved to 3rd on a wild pitch, and scored on double to the left field corner by Cullen Large. Grant Fennell (Nevada) followed suit with a double of his own to the right-center wall, scoring Large for their 4th run of the game.
The runs kept coming for La Crosse. Justin Wylie (San Diego State) scored from 3rd with no outs in the 6th on a 6-4-3 double play. The red hot Mason McCoy doubled again apart of three consecutive hits, scoring two more runs and extending the lead to 7 runs.
La Crosse added another run in the 7th, but it was in the bottom of that inning that the Waterloo bats finally got going after being held scoreless in 16 consecutive innings, dating back to their 17 inning loss to Mankato on the night before. With the Loggers’ starting pitcher Dave Smith (Long Beach State) taken out to start the inning, catcher Adam McGinnis (Western Illinois) led off the inning with a solo home run to right field.
With the two runs scored by Mason McCoy, he scored his 120th and 121st for his career. That leaves him just 8 runs shy of tying the Northwoods League career record of 129 by former Waterloo Buck Shayne Carnes (1995-1997).
Waterloo scored twice before Lorenzo Hampton Jr. (California) was able to seal the deal for a 9-3 win.
La Crosse bats have tormented opposing pitching in this 6-game win streak. During the streak, the Loggers have collected 50 runs on 80 hits. They have churned out double-digit hit totals in every single one of those games.
Dave Smith earned the win (2-0) in his first start of the season. He went 6 scoreless innings, giving up only 2 hits. He walked one batter with 4 strikeouts.
Brett Solano (Menlo College) took the loss (5-5) for the Bucks. He went 5+ innings, giving up 5 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits. He struck out 3 batters.
La Crosse takes their 6th consecutive game to move to 14-9 in the 2nd half (31-28 overall). With the sweep, they take the season series against Waterloo 5-3 after falling behind 1-3 in June. Waterloo drops their 3rd straight game, to drop to 9-16 in the 2nd half (31-29 overall). The Loggers now trail the St. Cloud Rox by 2 games in the 2nd half race and the Willmar Stingers by 1.5 games in the wild card race. Thunder Bay makes their final stop in La Crosse, starting tomorrow night with a 7:05 contest in the Lumberyard. Help solve the “Ballpark Murder Mystery” at the park tomorrow, presented by Pizza Hut. Gates open at 6 pm.
