La Crosse beat Bismarck 6-2 on Friday night in front of 2742 at Copeland Park. The Loggers improved to 5-6 on the season and handed the first place Larks (8-3) their third loss of the season.
The Loggers opened the scoring with two early runs in the first and second inning after an RBI ground out from Ryan Holgate (Arizona) and an RBI double from Cody Jefferis (San Diego) that scored Levi Usher (Louisville) from first base. The Larks trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the third, but Loggers starting pitcher Mason McMahon (UW-La Crosse) stifled the Bismarck offense all night. The senior right-hander tossed 6.0+ innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out eight in his first victory of the season.
The Loggers added a pair in the fifth inning on a 2-run home run from TJ Byrd (Young Harris) to extend the lead to 4-1. Byrd had a big night for the Loggers’ offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Jefferis and Brett Hawkins (Young Harris) each added a pair of hits in the victory, and Tony Bullard (Arizona) extended the La Crosse lead in the 7th with a solo shot to left field, improving his team-leading average to .476 on the season.
Southpaw Tyler Shingledecker (Penn State) held the Larks at bay through 2.0 innings of work before field manager Brian Lewis handed the ball to right-hander Jared Freilich (Penn State) to close the game, earning his second save of the season. The Loggers and Larks return to action at 6:05 PM Saturday night on 80s Night at the Lumberyard! Gates open at 5:00 PM with all fans that come dressed for 80s Night entered into a prize raffle!
