Eau Claire, Wis.— The four-game Express wining streak came to a halt Saturday night, as the Waterloo Bucks defeated the North Division first half champion Express squad 5-0 at Carson Park. Eau Claire will complete the four-game series tomorrow night, hoping to get revenge on the Bucks as Ryan Zimmerman takes the mound in the 5:05 p.m. start.
The Waterloo Bucks tallied a run early in Saturday’s game, with three straight singles on Express starter Michael Gomez in the top of the. One-baggers by Lane Milligan and Tyler Curtis put runners on the corners for Adam McGinnis, one of the league leaders in RBI’s this summer. McGinnis slapped a soft line drive over the head of Cody Bohanek at shortstop to get the scoring started. A sinking Brody Weiss single doubled the Bucks’ lead to 2-0 at the end of the first frame.
Gomez got his first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third, striking out two Bucks’ batters swinging in the inning.
The Express looked threatening in the bottom half of the inning, putting two runners aboard with no outs. Bohanek was hit by a Brett Solano fastball, and was joined on the base paths by Jake Sommers, who hit a ground ball single in his debut from the plate for a depleted Express squad. Zach Ashford advanced the two batters into scoring position with a ground out, and Kyle Marinconz drew a walk to load the bases. Solano was excellent in the tough situation, fanning two batters swinging to hold the Express scoreless.
With 2-0 score line holding strong, manager Dale Varsho made the move to bring in Reagan MacDonald for the top of the fifth inning. MacDonald sent down the Bucks in order on two pop ups and a swinging strikeout on a breaking ball in the dirt. Solano did not let up on the gas, holding the Express scoreless for the fifth straight inning.
MacDonald allowed a lead off single to Brody Weiss in the top of the sixth, but battled back with a pop up and strikeout to put two outs on the scoreboard. Kyle Crowl hit a sharp grounder that looked to be a base hit through the infield, but Mickey McDonald’s leaping stop and excellent throw to first preserved the 2-0 score.
Solano worked out of another jam in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Alex McKenna swinging with two outs to leave two runners in scoring position following two walks issued to Express hitters.
The Bucks scored their first run since the first frame in the top of the seventh, jumping on reliever Ryan Hamilton early in his outing. Hamilton walked the lead off batter, Zach Weatherford, who proceeded to steal both second and third. Designated hitter Tyler Curtis dropped an RBI double in the gap in right-center to give Waterloo a 3-0 lead.
The Express finally forced Solano out of the game with back-to-back no-out singles to start the bottom half of the seventh. Primary relief pitcher Sommers got his second hit of the game on a slap single to right, and Ashford followed up with a single up the middle. However, Hunter Spencer and Derek Hendrixson combined for an excellent inning in relief, holding the Express scoreless on a fly out and two strikeouts. Hendrixson completed the bottom of the eighth on two groundouts, forcing double play to end the inning following a Mickey McDonald one-out walk.
The Bucks extend their lead to 5-0 in the top of the ninth on a two-run home run by Milligan. Milligan’s first home run of the game came against Hamilton, following a lead off walk to Crowl, who would trot home on the shot over the Fan Deck in right field.
Hendrixson made quick work of the final three Express batters, sealing the 5-0 win for Waterloo. Designated hitter Sommers would be the lone Express player with multiple hits in the game, finishing 2-4 from the plate in his first appearance as a batter this year. Gomez was credited with the loss, while Solano picked up his sixth win of the year and Hendrixson tallied a save for his strong efforts in relief.
Ryan Zimmerman will get the call tomorrow night in the final game of the four game series against the Waterloo Bucks. In his first start of the season on August 1st, Zimmerman was lights out against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. The right-hander from the University of St. Thomas threw seven scoreless innings against the top team in the South Division, earning his first victory of the year while allowing just three hits. Zimmerman has struck out 19 batters in 20.1 innings pitched for Eau Claire this season following his July 14th debut.
The Eau Claire Express have won the Northwoods League North Division and have earned a trip to the playoffs for the first time since winning the Northwoods League Championship in 2010. They will host a playoff game at Carson Park on Monday August 15th 6:35pm. Group and individual game tickets are on sale now! Season tickets and single-game tickets for the regular season are also 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.