Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express (12-15) and the Thunder Bay Border Cats (7-21) put on a show for the Canadian fans at Port Arthur Stadium on Friday night. The Express out hit the Border Cats with 15 as opposed to 12, but Thunder Bay had a higher total in the run column as they beat Eau Claire 13-11.
The Express wasted no time, jumping on the board in the 1st inning. Andrew Pratt (Lubbock Christian) walked and scored after Nick Brueser (Stanford) hit an RBI double in the next at bat. David LaManna (Notre Dame) drove in Brueser with an RBI single. Eau Claire had a big four run 2nd inning. Drew Hmielewski (Minnesota) began with a single and Devon Garcia (Ohio) walked. The two baserunners advanced one base on a wild pitch. Mitch Buban (UW Milwaukee) hit a two RBI single and advanced to second base on the throw. Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) reached on an E4 that also scored Buban. Myers came in on a Noah Sifrit (Oklahoma State) RBI single.
The 4th inning saw two more runs for Eau Claire. Noah Sifrit singled, stole second, and made it to 3rd base on an error by Thunder Bay’s catcher. Andrew Pratt hit an RBI single to score Sifrit and Pratt later scored on a base hit by David LaManna. Spencer Myers hit an RBI single in the 5th inning, Pratt an RBI single in the 7th inning and Mitch Buban hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Adam LaRock (MATC).
Andrew Dean (Illinois-Springfield) got the start for Eau Claire but only made it through two innings before exiting due to the Northwoods League 35 pitches per inning rule. Dean gave up six runs, four earned, on six hits and two walks. Tyler Strzelczyk (MATC) worked three innings, allowed five runs (two earned) off four hits and one walk. Two position players entered on the mound for the Express. Andrew Pratt was the first and only gave up one run in two innings. He recorded three strikeouts. The other was Nick Brueser. The freshman also allowed a run off one hit and struck out two.
Eau Claire will continue their road trip with one more in Thunder Bay and two in Duluth. They return home on Monday, August 6th. It is a double header against the Stingers and you can Win Bill’s Grill! Enter for a chance to win Express owner Bill Rowlett’s Grill! Fans will also be able to receive a complimentary chair massage from Paradise Massage while taking in an Express game! The doubleheader features two 7 inning games. Game 1 begins at 5:05 pm and game 2 will begin approx. at 7:30 pm or 30 mins after the end of the first game. One ticket is good for both games.
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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, 200 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.
