Eau Claire, Wis.— The Express rolled to a 5-0 victory against the St. Cloud Rox, who had a 10 game winning streak heading into tonight’s contest. Eau Claire extended its own win streak to five games, behind Caleb Boushley’s six shut out innings, taking down the top team in the Northwoods League.
The Express threatened starter Jake Stevenson in the bottom of the first, with Ben Mezzenga reaching on a single up the middle. Mezzenga stole his 13th base of the season, advancing to second without a throw by the Rox catcher. However, the Express could not strike first on the scoreboard in the inning, as Mezzenga was thrown out at home in a double steal with Zach Ashford.
After being hit by a pitch in the leadoff spot of the second inning, Austin Guzzo advanced to third base on two consecutive throwing errors on pickoff throws by Stevenson. Kyle Marinconz tallied his third RBI of the season on a ground out, giving the Express a 1-0 lead after two innings of play.
Caleb Boushley was strong early on the mound for the Express, pitching three scoreless innings against one of the top hitting squads in the Northwoods League. Boushley pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the third inning, and struck out two Rox batters.
Boushley would replicate his performance in the next three innings, allowing no runs on six hits in his second scoreless outing of the season. He fanned seven opposing hitters, giving him 22 total strikeouts this season in four starts. Boushley earned his third win of the season while lowering his ERA to 2.25. The right-hander has not allowed in 13 innings, with two consecutive shut outs on the mound for the Express.
The Express widened the gap to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Ashford got his third hit of the game on a lead off single, and Daulton Varsho drew a walk to put two runners aboard. A Jared Mang sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position, and a walk to Guzzo loaded the bases for Marinconz. Marinconz lined a two-out single over the head of the St. Cloud shortstop, scoring Ashford and Varsho. Bohanek followed with a two-RBI single of his own, widening the lead to five runs.
Dylan Smith struck out three St. Cloud batters in two innings of work to seal the victory and preserve the shut out, giving the side-armer 17 strikeouts in just 11.1 innings pitched this season. Ashford reached base in all four at bats, drawing a walk and hitting three singles while scoring one run in the win. Bohanek continued his hot streak, adding his seventh and eighth RBI’s in the past three games.
The Express will look for a series sweep against the first-place Rox tomorrow evening, with first pitch scheduled for 5:05p.m. Eau Claire is seeking to extend its winning streak to six and seize control of the top record in the league. Brody Rodning holds an 0-1 record on the season, with an 8.16 ERA in four starts. Rodning will have the difficult task of containing the second best hitting team in the Northwoods League, as Boushley did, limiting the Rox to just six hits and no runs.
Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale now for Express home games. 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, 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 portal. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the Express as your favorite team.