The Eau Claire Express, winners of the 1st and 2nd Half South Division title, will take on the Rochester Honkers who won the 1st Half of the North Division. The Express face a hot Rochester Honker team that swept the St. Cloud River Bats 2-0 in the North Division Series. Eau Claire reaches the Summer Collegiate World Series after beating a confident Wisconsin Woodchucks team that won nine of their last ten regular season games.
The Eau Claire Express shut out the Rochester Honkers 6-0 Friday night in game one of the Summer Collegiate World Series. Eau Claire scored two runs in the 1st inning to take the 2-0 lead and never looked back.
Matthew McDaniel (San Diego State) helped lead the Eau Claire Express to the Summer Collegiate World Series. McDaniel, a 6’2’’ righty, threw a six hitter thru 6.2 innings while striking out two Woodchucks. McDaniel’s 8th win of the season helped the Express continue their season.
Nolan Fadness (Wisconsin Oshkosh) scored three runs from his leadoff position Thursday night. Fadness was 2-for-5 on the night with three runs scored. The speedy left fielder is hitting .300 in the playoffs and hopes to continue his hot hitting into the Summer Collegiate World Series.
The Major League Baseball 1st Year Player draft took place on June 7th, but teams and draft picks had until August 16th to finalize their contracts. The 2010 Draft saw Bryce Harper sign a 5-year $9.9 million contract that includes a $6.25 million signing bonus as the 1st pick of the draft. 26 draft picks in the 1st round signed multi-million dollar bonuses with two being former NWL players. Various former and current NWL players signed contracts over the past two-plus months since the draft.
Stat Leaders for Batting Average, Home Runs, RBI, Strike Outs, Wins and ERA
The Eau Claire Express advance to the Summer Collegiate World Series Friday night as they beat the Wisconsin Woodchucks 6-2. The Express will face the Rochester Honkers on Friday night in Eau Claire at 6:35 PM.
Ian Campbell (Corpus Christi) calmed the Woodchucks bats Wednesday night in a game the Express needed to win to stay alive. Campbell only allowed four hits in 8.0 innings of work while striking out three ‘Chucks. The NWL Postseason All-Star now has eight wins on the season and gives the Express a chance to make it to the NWL Championship series with a win Thursday night at Carson Park.
Davy Wright (Texas Christian) of the Rochester Honkers did not have the prettiest stat line against the River Bats as he went 1-for5, but his lone hit sent the Honkers to the NWL Championship Series. Wright blasted a solo home run in the 12th inning that broke a 2-2. The 6’1’’ infielder gave the Honkers a 3-2 lead while the home run was the 2nd of the season for Wright.
In the top of the fifth inning of Monday night’s playoff clinching regular season finale, Woodchucks P/OF Brock Stassi made an absolutely stunning defensive play in rightfield.
