Eau Claire, Wis.— The Express won their third straight game at Wade Stadium in Duluth, MN, a rain-soaked 9-6 victory that brings their 2016 record to 9-6 through two weeks of play. Ben Mezzenga scored three runs and had three stolen bases, while Ryan Hamilton earned his first win of the season on the mound for Eau Claire.
The Express loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning on two singles by Rudy Rott and Zach Ashford, and a walk by Daniel Herrera. Cody Bohanek bounced a ground ball on the infield turf at Wade Stadium, scoring Rott from third for an RBI infield single. A fly out ended the inning for Eau Claire, but the Express held a 1-0 lead heading to the bottom half of the second inning.
The Huskies leveled the game in the bottom of the inning, scoring one run on two hits. Mitch Reeves lined a single to right field and advanced to third base on a double from Carter Hanford. Austin Bernard hit a grounder, which drove in Reeves to tie the game, but second baseman Sam Hurt made a heads up play to catch Hanford attempting to give Duluth a lead for the final out of the inning.
Four runners crossed the plate in the fourth to give the Express a 5-1 lead. McDonald reached base on a single, advanced to second after Rott was hit by a pitch, then stood 90-feet away after a sacrifice bunt by Daniel Herrera. The UI-Chicago third baseman then scored on a wild pitch from Huskies’ starter, Logan Browning. Ashford reached on a fielder’s choice, and scored on an RBI single from Bohanek, his second of the game. Hurt hit a two-RBI single to cap off the inning, scoring Bohanek and Mezzenga, who was walked and stole a base.
On his second pitch of the night, Marcus Frederickson allowed a solo home run in the fifth inning to Tyler Jones, his second of the season. Jones took advantage of a hanging breaking ball and rocketed a ball deep center field to give the Express the 6-1 lead. In the top of the sixth, Varsho and Mezzenga had a pair of RBI singles to extend the Eau Claire lead to seven runs. The Express stole three bases in the inning, allowing numerous opportunities for batters to capitalize with runners in scoring position.
Hamilton pitched seven quality innings for the Express, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out three Huskies batters. In the bottom of the seventh, the rain started to come down in sheets, having consequences on Hamilton’s control. A single and two walks in the downpour loaded the bases for Austin Bernard, who hit a two-RBI single to cut the Express lead to 8-3. The Huskies added another run on a throwing error by Bohanek. Hamilton got a big strikeout with runners on the corners to limit the damage headed to the eighth.
The Express quickly added to their lead in the top of the eighth, utilizing the speed of Mezzenga on the base paths. Mezzenga walked to reach first, then stole a base (his third of the game) and made it to third on a throwing error from the Huskies’ catcher. Hurt had an RBI sacrifice fly to score the tagging Mezzenga, giving Eau Claire a 9-4 lead.
Jon Roblez made his 2016 Express debut in the bottom of the eighth. The right-hander from Alabama State allowed two runs, including an RBI single from Hanford and a wild pitch that scored Dillon Paulson, to cut the Express lead to 9-6 after eight innings. Roblez struck out two batters in one inning of work.
Dylan Smith came into the game with a save opportunity, but allowed a lead off double to Steven Neutzling. Smith would bounce back, striking out three straight Huskies’ batters to slam the door and preserve the 9-6 victory.
Hamilton got the win in the game, with Browning deemed the losing pitcher. Smith tallied his second save of the season for the Express in just three opportunities. Mezzenga went 1-3 with two walks, three stolen bases, and three runs scored. Hurt continued his hot-hitting road trip with three RBI’s on one hit. Jones, one of the top power hitters in college baseball, hit his second home run of the season in his second summer in Eau Claire.
The Express will close out their six-game road trip with a rematch against Wade Stadium tomorrow at 6:35p.m. Aaron Shortridge will look to continue his strong summer for Eau Claire with a chance to improve to 3-0 and continue to lower his solid 2.25 ERA. After tomorrow night’s matchup, the Express will return home to Carson Park for a series against the Green Bay Bullfrogs, highlighted by Dalton Roach’s second start of the season.
Season tickets, 5-Game Packs, and single-game tickets are on sale now for Express home games. The all-new 5-Game Pack includes a reserved ticket along with food and beverage for three innings for five of the biggest promotional nights of the 2016 season all for only $45.00. All tickets can be purchased by calling the Express office at 715-839-7788 or by stopping at the downtown office at 102 E. Grand Ave.
The Eau Claire Express are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016, 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 150 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com.
