Opening Night for the Loggers took place on the road against the Mankato MoonDogs Monday night. A game that saw: 26 combined strikeouts, just 9 total hits and some stellar defense from La Crosse sadly led to a 2-1 walk-off loss.
Travis Luensmann (South Carolina) got the opening night nod for the Loggers. He fired 3.2 innings of 1 run ball, struck out 6 and walked just 2. The Loggers relievers were also a major headline despite the loss. Cameron Crain, (Johnson CC) Erik Demchuk, (UAV) and Marius Balandis combined for 7.0 innings, 1 run, 2 hits and 8 strikeouts.
The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the 4th when Mankato put together its first serious threat. With runners at the corners and 2 outs, Loggers manager Brian Lewis made the move to the bullpen to bring in Crain. The first pitch of his season was a wild pitch that led to a Bryce Novak (Gustavus Adolphis) run.
The Loggers would respond instantly in the top of the 5th. Darrian Escobar-Winter (Viterbo) delivered a game-tying RBI double to centerfield to make it 1-1. The score would remain the same entering the bottom of the 10th.
After the Loggers failed to push across the go ahead run in the top of the 10th, it setup a walk-off scenario for Mankato in the bottom half. With a runner at third and one out Mitchell Novak (Saint Scholastica) drilled a base hit into left field to score the game winning run for Mankato.
La Crosse will attempt to go for the series split and grab their first win of the year Tuesday night against Mankato.
6:35 first pitch. TV: NorthwoodsLeague.com. Radio: Mixlr.
The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.