Duluth, Minn- Pitching into the eighth inning for the second time this season, Aaron Shortridge (California) (4-1) turned in one the more impressive Express (3-2 Second Half, 18-23 Overall) outings of the year in a 6-1 victory over the Duluth Huskies (3-2 Second Half, 18-22 Overall).
Striking out eight and walking none through eight frames of work, Shortridge offered few glimpses of hope to a Huskies offense that had just put up 14 runs on the La Crosse Loggers the night before. With Sunday afternoon’s performance in the books, Shortridge dropped his seasonal earned run average down to 2.46, the fourth lowest ERA of any qualified starter in the North Division.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fifth, Shortridge’s college teammate, Ty Greene (California) laced a two-run double that brought home Rudy Rott (Ohio) and Scott Ogrin (Cal Poly) to give Eau Claire a 2-1 lead. The Express would remain in control for the remainder of the ballgame, tacking on four more runs in the top of the ninth before Northwoods League All-Star Victor Chavez (Scottsdale CC) tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finalize the win.
With the win, Eau Claire climbs into the midst of a four-team tie atop the second half standings in the North alongside Waterloo, Rochester and Duluth. After topping the Huskies on Sunday, the Express will have the opportunity to pull ahead of Duluth when the two teams meet at Carson Park tomorrow night.
That game is set to commence at 6:35 PM, as Lane Ramsey (Oklahoma) (0-2) will be the man on the mound for Eau Claire. Ramsey has allowed five earned runs over 18.2 innings in his three starts at Carson Park this season.
Reminder: Tomorrow’s game is “Turn Back the Clock Night” sponsored by Royal Credit Union. The Express will be donning their throwback “Eau Claire Bears” uniforms during the game, while fans in attendance will receive an Eau Claire Bears throwback hat upon entering Carson Park.
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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 180 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.