MADISON – The expansion La Crosse Loggers had been getting good pitching, then little hitting. Or, the bats would come alive and the team’s pitching staff would struggle.

This weekend, both came together in a Northwoods League against the Madison Mallards.

La Crosse (8-12), thanks to a strong seven-inning stint from right-hander Lucas Robinson, made it two consecutive victories over the Mallards with a 6-3 victory over Madison at Warner Park. The Loggers have little time to savor the win, however, as they head to St. Cloud this morning for a two-game set with the River Bats before returning home on Wednesday to face another expansion team in Thunder Bay.

“He (Robinson) had a shaky first inning, then he settled down and started getting the ball down in the (strike) zone,” said La Crosse manager Estevan Valencia of Robinson, who allowed two first-inning runs. “He worked down in the zone with his fastball and breaking ball.”

Logan High School graduate Jon Mueller worked the eighth inning, and Ryan Hopkins worked the ninth to earn the save.

Offensively, another Logan grad, Dale Mueller, ripped a two-run double to power La Crosse while teammate Ben Stanczyk stroked a two-run single. Charlie Reshke also had a RBI single for La Crosse.

“Overall, I’m happy with the guys and the way they are getting after it,” Valencia said. “We have been playing well, even when we’ve lost. Today we got another strong pitching performance and we hit the ball well. Hopefully we can build off of this.”

The Mallards continue their home stand tonight at 7:05 against the Wisconsin Woodchucks.