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PdC Hoppers start season with wins over La Crescent, La Crosse
Bryce Lenzendorf Catch Alan Hernandez 3rd Base
Third baseman Alan Hernandez (left) and shortstop Carter Copsey (center) watch as Hoppers starting pitcher Bryce Lenzendorf (right) makes a running catch in foul territory during the first inning of the Hoppers’ 4-2 win over La Crosse Post 52. - photo by Derick Kelly

The Prairie du Chien American Legion Post 68 Grasshoppers 19U baseball team kicked off its 2026 season last Monday, June 15 with a road contest at La Crescent Post 595.

After a scoreless first inning by both teams, the Hoppers got things going in the top of the second inning with a leadoff single by Carter Tonne. Westin Marx reached via error two batters later to put runners on the corners for Prairie with one out. A subsequent wild pitch during Brady Lenzendorf’s at-bat moved Marx to second base and scored Tonne for the first run of the game. The inning ended with the Hoppers holding a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the second inning.

Following a scoreless third inning, the Hoppers got RBI singles from Carter Copsey and Blake Reynolds in the top of the fourth inning to extend the score to 3-0. Prairie du Chien would add two more runs in the top of the sixth inning thanks to an RBI single by Cael Koenig and a throwing error by the La Crescent defense that scored Copsey to make the score 5 to 0. La Crescent would break up the shutout with a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning but the Hoppers would add one final run of their own in the top of the seventh inning thanks to a Jacob Mara RBI single that scored Marx before PdC shut the door on the La Crescent offense in the bottom of the inning for the 6-1 win.

Reynolds (one run allowed on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched) got the win on the mound for Prairie du Chien, with Copsey (zero runs allowed on one hit and zero walks with two strikeouts in 2.0 innings pitched).

The Hoppers collected eight hits as a team, with Koenig (2-for-4 with one RBI) collecting multiple hits and Bryce Lenzendorf hitting a double for Prairie du Chien during the win.

Prairie du Chien ended the week this past Thursday with a home doubleheader against La Crosse Post 52. The Hoppers got things going in the first game in the bottom of the first inning thanks to an RBI groundout by Reynolds that scored Copsey and an error by the La Crosse defense that allowed Koenig to also score.

PdC would add one run in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly to right field by Bryce Lenzendorf that scored Koenig and one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a RBI double by Koenig that scored Marx from second base. La Crosse would get a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning but were unable to get any closer as the Hoppers shut the door on Post 52 by the score of 4-2.

Bryce Lenzendorf (one run allowed on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched) got the win, while Copsey (one run allowed on three hits and zero walks with one strikeout in 2.0 innings pitched the final two innings.

The Hoppers offense produced six hits in the win. Koenig (2-for-2 with a double, triple, one walk, two runs scored and one RBI) once again collected multiple hits to lead the Hoppers.

Game two was all Prairie du Chien as the Hoppers handed Post 52 a 9-0 defeat to earn the doubleheader sweep. Reynolds got PdC started in game two with a groundout to shortstop to score Copsey and give Prairie du Chien a 1-0 lead. The Hoppers broke the game open in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out grand slam home run to left field that also scored Marx, Draven Moris and Mara as PdC extended their lead to 5-0. PdC would go on to add three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a two-run single by Reynolds that scored Koenig and Copsey and a throwing error by La Crosse that scored Bryce Lenzendorf. PdC would add their ninth and final run in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to a sacrifice fly to center field by Brady Lenzendorf that scored Moris to make the score 9-0 which would go on to be the final score.

Mara (zero runs allowed on two hits and four walks with three strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched) and Jack Simmons (zero runs allowed on zero hits and zero walks in 0.1 innings pitched) combined to throw a two-hit shutout.

Koenig remained en fuego at the plate by going 2-for-3 with a walk, double, home run, two runs scored and four RBIs in the win. Copsey (2-for-3 with a double, one walk and two runs scored) and Bryce Lenzendorf (2-for-2 with one walk, one run scored and one RBI) also had multiple hits in the win for Prairie du Chien. Reynolds (1-for-4) had three RBIs in the win, while Marx (1-for-3 with one walk and one run scored) added a double. Moris walked three times in the win as well.

Prairie du Chien (3-0) was back in action this past Monday, June 22 when they traveled to Onalaska for a doubleheader against the Post 336 19U team. The Hoppers travel to Fennimore tomorrow night for a single game starting at 7:00 p.m. before ending the week with a doubleheader at home vs. Black River Falls this Friday night starting at 5 p.m.