Box Score

He's known more for his strong arm behind the plate.

But Saturday night, it was Eau Claire Express catcher Brent Gibbs' bat that made the biggest difference.

The Indiana backstopper went 3-for-5 with two runs, including his first home run of year, in an 8-5 Express victory against the host St. Cloud Rox in front of 1,174 people at Joe Faber Field.

Gibbs' home run came in the fourth inning to put Eau Claire on the board and cut the deficit to 2-1. In the top of the fifth, the Express tied when Drew Salters knocked in his roommate at Dallas Baptist, Drew Turbin, on an RBI single.

The Rox took a quick lead, but Eau Claire exploded in the late innings to break the game open. The orange and black scored twice in the top of the seventh, once on a balk to score Peter Van Gansen and the other on a wild pitch to score Jeff Hendrix.

In the eighth, Jack Zoellner got the scoring going by plating Gibbs on an RBI single after he led off with a double. Two batters later, Zoellner came around to score on a error, which came off the bat of Brady Burzynski. Van Gansen and Burzynski then took advantage of shaky defense and came around to score on the same play via an error.

Eric Gleese picked up his first save since May 31 with a scoreless ninth inning.

Jeremy Bagnall turned in one of his finer outings on the mound as he picked up his second win of the year by going six innings, giving up three runs and striking out five, his highest punchout total of the season.

The Express and Rox go at it again in St. Cloud tomorrow starting at 3:05 p.m. Eau Claire returns home Monday for an afternoon edition at Carson Park against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. First pitch is set for noon, and it is Kids Day sponsored by Marshfield Clinic. Kids will receive free admission to the contest.