The Eau Claire Express fell behind eight runs in the first two innings and never responded in a 10-5 loss Monday to the host Thunder Bay Border Cats.
Eau Claire chipped away in the third when Peter Van Gansen scored on a wild pitch and Daniel Salters singled in Tyler Hermann.
But the Express could never creep much closer. They did get runs in the sixth on a Brent Gibbs fielder's choice scoring Mike Barjas and two in the eighth on Mike Barajs fielder's choice to score Salters as well as an RBI fielder's choice from Brian Mundell to score Jack Zoellner.
Eau Claire returns home tomorrow night to take on the Rochester Honkers. Ian Doughty takes the mound for the orange and black starting at 6:35 p.m.