After jumping all over the MoonDogs by scoring three runs in the first inning, the Express rode this one out behind Ryan Zimmerman’s brilliant outing to lock up a 5-2 win in Saturday night’s home opener.
Zimmerman, a returner from last season’s North Division-winning Express team, tossed six frames of three-hit ball in his 2017 Northwoods League debut. Striking out three and walking one, Zimmerman managed to get the job done by inducing weak contact in the air, recording 10 fly ball outs. Pitching has been the name of the game for the Express in 2017 thus far with Zimmerman’s showing dropping the team’s overall ERA to 2.99.
The Eau Claire bats capitalized on Mankato’s two-error first inning, scoring three runs to start Zimmerman with a comfortable lead. For the second consecutive night it was leadoff man Zach Gilles setting the tone on offensive end for the Express, going 2-4 with a couple of singles and a run scored.
Pete McEvoy tacked on another in the third with an RBI-single to extend Eau Claire’s lead to 4-2. And then rose to the occasion once more in the 8th to push across another insurance run with a sac fly to make it 5-2.
Josh Gaworski took over on the hill for Zimmerman in the seventh, tossing three shutout innings on his way to picking up the save. Entering a game for the first time this year on the very day he joined the team, Gaworski showcased his ability to live in the zone with ease, pumping in 32 strikes compared to 17 balls on his way to notching three strikeouts.
With the win, Eau Claire raised their record above the .500 mark for the first time in 2017. Tomorrow, they’ll finish their two-game stand with the MoonDogs at 5:05 PM, with gates opening at Carson Park an hour before first pitch.
The Eau Claire Express are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 23-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 170 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). 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 or on Google Play and set the Express as your favorite team.