Latest News
Eau Claire, WI – All eyes were on Cody Milligan (Oklahoma State) Tuesday night at Carson Park as he attempted to play at all nine positions in one game. The freshman delivered and became the first player in Express history to accomplish the feat.
Milligan began the night behind the plate. He gunned down a Border Cat to get the first out of the top of the 1st inning. Milligan moved to first base in the 2nd inning, 2nd base in the 3rd inning, and 3rd base in the 4th inning. While at shortstop in the top of the 5th, Milligan caught a pop up to end the Thunder Bay threat. He broke into the outfield in the 6th inning, playing left. After moving to center in the 7th and right in the 8th, Milligan entered to pitch in the 9th. While his time on the mound wasn’t the greatest (0.1 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO), Milligan had a very impressive night in all other categories.
Eau Claire got on the board right away in the 1st inning. Noah Sifrit (Oklahoma State) advanced to first on a fielder’s choice. Sifrit stole second base and advanced to third, then scored on two wild pitches. Another run scored in the 2nd inning. Devon Garcia (Ohio) walked and stole second. He would later score on a wild pitch. A big, three run 5th inning would put the Express up 5-0. David LaManna (Notre Dame) was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a Mitch Buban (Milwaukee) single. Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) drove in LaManna and advanced Buban to third with an RBI single. Adam LaRock (MATC) followed with a walk. With the bases now loaded, Devon Garcia drew a walk and scored Buban. Cody Milligan would also walk with the bases juiced.
With the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Spencer Myers walked and stole second base. Eau Claire native, Adam LaRock, was the hometown hero, hitting a walk off single to give the Express a 6-5 victory.
Austin George (College of Charleston) pitched well in his first start of the season. The junior went 5 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and three walks while striking out eight. Isaiah Davis (Fresno State) entered from the bullpen to throw three innings. He gave up one run on three hits and two walks. Super utilityman, Cody Milligan, tossed 0.1 innings giving up four runs with two being earned. Zach Grech (Stanford) finished the last 0.2 innings of the game and earned the win.
Eau Claire will play two tomorrow, August 1st. Gates open at 12:00 pm for a 1:05 first pitch. Its Kids Day presented by Marshfield Clinic! Children k-12 receive free admission and a hot dog/soda voucher courtesy of Marshfield Clinic. Kids activities beginning at 10am include: speed pitch, bounce house, batting tee inflatable, skills challenge, player autographs, and face painting (times are subject to change, player autographs and face painter will begin after 10am). Gates for game 2 open at 6:00 pm with a scheduled 7:05 first pitch. It will be Buck day, including $1 hot dogs, $1 small sodas, $1 domestic beer and $4 wine for the first three innings!
###
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.
