Loggers finish season 38-22, district title and fourth at state

After an outstanding run at the state title, the Loggers concluded their season with a 38-22 overall record, finishing 13-5 in their final game against the Belgrade Bandits.

The loss followed a defeat by the Laurel that pitted the Loggers against Belgrade in the loser-out semifinal round of the double-elimination tournament.

“Well, that first loss was an extremely tough one, they bounced back,” Coach Kelly Morford said. “We just kind of ran out of gas there at the end.”

The semifinal game was a stride for the finish, with hard defensive fronts from both teams before the Bandits drew first blood in the bottom of the sixth with three runs.

Andrew Haggerty led the team on the mound, helping the Loggers hold Belgrade from a single hit in the second and third, with six outs on six batters in the two innings.

 “Andrew pitched great, just as well as we could have asked. We put him out there and he pitched a great ball game,” said Morford.

The Loggers made a run to take the lead with an uncontested run in the seventh inning. The Loggers capitalized off three key Bandit errors in the top of the eighth to allow second baseman Will Reichel, center fielder Luke Haggerty and shortstop Jared Winslow a run each to attain the lead before the Bandits’ main drive came in the bottom of the inning.

“We played well, we came back from being down, and our pitching wasn’t very good. They had a few mistakes, made some errors,” Reichel said.

The Loggers were plagued in the bottom of the eighth with poor pitching that allowed eight unearned runs and a 9-point lead that put the game out of reach for the Loggers. Reichel ended the game with a double that resulted in one run in the ninth inning, assisted by a single by Luke Haggerty.

The Loggers finished the game with 8 runs on 5 hits, as catcher Oliver Grupenhoff batted 2-for-3, Reichel batted 3-for-5, and pinch-hitter Dylon Lane batted 1-for-1 against winning pitcher James Olson.

The Loggers postseason has been a story of underdogs, as the team repeatedly proved their place in the district and state tournaments.

“Compared to where we started and ended our season was a night and day difference,” said Logger shortstop Jared Winslow.

The Loggers began their post-season play as a fourth seed in the district tournament in Eureka, resulting in a district title and a No. 1 seed in the state tournament from the western district.

“Our pitching really came through after Jared got hurt,” said Will Reichel. “We came together a little more after that.”

“I think going into the district four seed and coming out of it with a district title to make it to the road to win that state title was incredible. So, anyway you look at it, the boys should be proud,” Coach Kelly Morford said.