Eau Claire, Wis. – November 25, 2013 – The Northwoods League today announced the release of the 2014 schedule. The Eau Claire Express will begin their 10th Anniversary season of play on Tuesday, May 27 at Carson Park versus the Lakeshore Chinooks. First pitch of that game will be at 6:35 PM. Eau Claire begins the season with nine of its first ten games at home.
The league will feature a 72 game schedule in 2014, two more games than were scheduled in 2013. This change is a result of league expansion to Kenosha, Wis. and Kalamazoo, Mich. Both expansion teams will play in the South Division with the Express relocating to the North Division. Regular season play begins Tuesday, May 27 and concludes on Sunday, August 10. Divisional playoffs begin the following day and run through Wednesday, August 13 and will match each division’s first and second half winners in a best-of-three format. Winners of those series will begin play for the Northwoods League Championship on Thursday, August 14. That best-of-three series will conclude on Saturday, August 16.
Eau Claire’s home schedule will include a few different start times. Most home games will begin at 6:35 PM, with a few exceptions. Friday night home games will begin at 7:05 PM and Sunday home games will begin at 5:05 PM. The Friday, July 4 game will begin at 6:05 PM to accommodate the City of Eau Claire’s fireworks display. Eau Claire has hosted a game on Independence Day for ten straight seasons. This year’s opponent is the Mankato MoonDogs. New this season are split, two-city doubleheaders to be played on June 30 and July 30. Eau Claire’s opponent is the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. The June 30 series features a 12:00 noon game at Carson Park followed by a night game at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids. The teams will flip flop at the end of July, playing a day game in Wisconsin Rapids before traveling to Carson Park for a 7:05 PM start that evening.
Eau Claire will play 19 of its 35 home games in the first half of the season, which wraps up at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids on June 30 with the second game of the scheduled doubleheader versus the Rafters. The Express have two six-game homestands during the season. One occurs from June 16 through June 21 and the other finishes off the regular season from August 4 through August 10. The August homestand includes one day off of regular season play for the Northwoods League Showcase to be held in Madison, Wis.
To purchase season tickets or voucher packs, please contact the Express office by calling 839-7788 or by stopping by the office at 108 E. Grand Ave. in downtown Eau Claire. Single-game tickets will go on sale for all games on May 1.
The Eau Claire Express are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYY), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com.