Eau Claire, Wis. – The Eau Claire Express front office announced today the addition of two pitchers to the roster, one of the final moves before the season begins two weeks from today.
Reliever Eric Gleese and starter Jordan Ruckman will toe the rubber for the 2014 Express.
Standing at 6-feet-3 inches and checking in at 240 pounds, Gleese, a junior at the University of Hawaii, is one of the Warriors closers. In 25.2 innings, Gleese’s two most impressive outings of the year came in save situations. On February 20, the Tracy, Calif., native tossed two scoreless innings to seal a win against Albany, and on May 2 against NYIT, he went four shutout frames without allowing a hit and striking out five.
Ruckman, a sophomore from Northern Illinois, is an inning-eating starter. In 10 starts, the left-hander from Kankakee, Ill., has thrown 49 innings and is third on the team with 37 strikeouts. The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder threw a two-hit complete game his freshman year in a win against Miami (Ohio).
The Express begin their 10th season of play in the Northwoods League on Tuesday, May 27 versus the Lakeshore Chinooks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with gates opening at 5:30. Season tickets and voucher packs are on sale now. Single-game tickets will go on sale May 1. To subscribe to the Express schedule on your Internet and/or phone calendar and have it be updated with any changes in promotions and game times, click the link below.
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 Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), 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.