Box Score

The train keeps rolling, and with the offenseive fireworks Friday night, it doesn't look like the rails are coming off any time soon.

The Eau Claire Express won their seventh-straight contest, this one by a score of 10-2 over the host Thunder Bay Border Cats at Tbaytel Park, to improve to 8-2 in the second half and remain in first place in the Northwoods League North Division.

The Express got things going right away with three runs in the top of the first. Mike Porcaro scored on a bases-loaded walk to Brian Mundell, and then Lane Milligan drove in the two Express All-Stars, Tyler Hermann and Daniel Salters, on a single.

Thunder Bay scored one in the bottom of the third, but the Express broke it open with five in the top of the fourth.

Porcaro and Mundell connected again as Mundell hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate the UW-Milwaukee infiedler. Milligan, fresh off an injury, drove in Hermann again on a single, Mike Barajas plated Salters and Milligan on a single and Brady Burzynski closed out the inning by singling in Barajas.

The Express tacked on another in the fifth as Mundell drove in his third run of the ballgame on an RBI single to score Salters, who had three runs on the night.

Eau Claire also got one in the top of the ninth as Porcaro scored on an RBI double from Hermann.

The Express pounded out 15 hits, and eight of the nine guys in the lineup got at least one. Burzynski and Milligan both had three.

On the mound, Jeremy Bagnall turned in a very Jeremy Bagnall-esque performance, going seven innings while allowing just two runs and striking out three. Matt Panek pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth for the Express.

Eau Claire travels to Mankato for a two-game series before having a day off on Monday. Jordan Ruckman takes the ball tomorrow with a first pitch starting at 6:05 p.m.