It didn’t go as planned for the Eau Claire Express on Friday night as they dropped game two against the Duluth Huskies 6-0 in front of a rain soaked crowd at Carson Park.
Eau Claire 2nd baseman Tyler Jones collected 2 of the 5 total hits for the Express as their bats went silent. Eau Claire fell to 1-3 on the season but Jones said there is no reason to worry yet.
“We’ve been barreling a lot of balls that haven’t really been finding holes,” said Jones. I think it’s just the start of the new season and getting adjusted to the wood bats. We’ll be fine.”
Dalton Roach started on the mound for the Express in his first start of the season. He gave up 2 runs in 4 innings and was credited with the loss. Field Manager Dale Varsho wasn’t discouraged by the way the Eau Claire native pitched tonight.
“I think he’s capable of doing really well in the league just like his college season,” said Varsho. “Were just trying to make sure he’s fresh for the entire summer, not just one start.”
It was raining over Carson Park most of the afternoon but cleared up just before game-time. Around the 5th inning is when it started to pick back up again.
“The rain is always a factor but they hit 12 so you can’t really blame it on the rain,” said Varsho. “We just got to swing the bats better and put more balls in play.”
The Express are home again tomorrow as the Willmar Stingers come to town for a 2 game series. Jones said he’s ready to even out that record before it’s too late.
“I think it will be a good series,” said Jones. “We’ll be ready so we can get that record turned around.”
First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Carson Park.