Eau Claire, Wis. – On a cool night at Carson Park, the Eau Claire Express (4-7) could not heat things up with their bats. The hometown team dropped another game, losing 3-0 to the Bismarck Larks.
The Larks took the lead in the 4th inning off a Kyle Stevens solo home run to left field. They would score two more in the top of the seventh. Carson Bartels would get on base by a four pitch walk. Wyatt Ulrich would advance him to second on a single. Ripken Reyes would be the driving force, slashing a two RBI double to score both Bartels and Ulrich.
The Express offense could only muster up five hits on the night. They threatened to score early in the bottom of the 1st. Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) advanced to 1st on a walk. He would then steal second and advance to 3rd on a David LaManna (Notre Dame) single. Gilles, looking to score on the play, would be tagged out at the plate. Eau Claire would load the bases in the bottom of the third. Adam Krajewski (St. Thomas) would lead off the inning with a walk. Gilles would reach on an error by the third baseman, and Krajewski would advance third. After Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) would reach on a fielder’s choice, putting out Krajewski, David LaManna drew a walk to load bases. However, the inning would end without an Express run.
Trevor Olson (Xavier) started on the mound for the Express, going six innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk. Tyler Strzelczyk (MATC) threw two innings in relief, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk. Reagan MacDonald (Dallas Baptist) allowed no hits and struck out two in one inning of work.
The Eau Claire Express will finish the homestand tomorrow night against the Bismarck Larks. First pitch is slated from 6:35 pm. There will be a pregame band performance and a mystery mini bobblehead giveaway. We hope to see you at 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. Now in its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 190 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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.