Eau Claire, WI- Entering the ninth with a commanding three-run lead, the Express found themselves on the wrong end of a crushing 9-8 La Crosse comeback.
With their closer and 2017 Northwoods League All-Star Victor Chavez on the mound and a 7-4 lead in the final frame of play, Eau Claire had to be feeling confident that they would be opening up the second half with two straight wins. Assuming Chavez would breeze through the ninth as he has several times this year.
However, after hitting the lead off batter with his first pitch, Chavez would then walk the next hitter to bring Loggers third baseman Ryan Mantle to the plate. The righty out of Jefferson Community College launched a fly ball into deep left field that traveled just over the outstretched glove of a leaping Zach Ashford and over the wall for a game-tying three-run homer.
Immediately after recording his first blown save of the year, Chavez gave up a no-doubt solo home run to La Crosse first baseman David Villar, giving the Loggers a 9-8 lead.
The Express would get runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but shortstop Justin Evans grounded into a game-ending fielder’s choice as Eau Claire dropped to 1-1 in the second half.
Friday night the Express will travel to Rochester to take on the Honkers at 7:05 PM. St. Thomas starter Ryan Zimmerman is slated to make the start on the mound for Eau Claire in what will be his seventh appearance with the team this year. The 5’10 right-hander has run a 4.90 ERA with a 23/12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22 innings pitched this season.
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.
