Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express (13-15) defeated the Duluth Huskies (20-9) on a cool and wet day in Minnesota. The teams fought back and forth the entire night but the Express prevailed 10-9.
Scoring in 3’s seemed to be the trend for tonight’s Express team. In the 2nd, Ryan Bishop (Dallas Baptist) singled. Drew Hmielewski (Minnesota) drove Bishop in on an RBI double. Noah Sifrit (Oklahoma State) reached on an error by the second baseman that also allowed Hmielewski to score. Sifrit scored on an RBI single by Adam LaRock (MATC). One run came in the 5th inning when LaRock singled, stole second and third, and came home on an E2.
The 6th saw three more runs. The bases were quickly loaded after Ryan Bishop walked, Scott Finberg (Century CC) was hit by a pitch, and Devon Garcia (Ohio) reached on E1. Bishop scored on an RBI single from Myers, Finberg score on an error by the Huskies’ catcher, and Myers would come home later that inning.
Another inning, another 3 runs. In the 8th, Noah Sifrit made it to second base on an error by the pitcher and scored on an E5 that allowed Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) to get to second. Adam LaRock advanced to first on a walk. Both runners scored on an Andrew Pratt (Lubbock Christian) hit a two RBI single.
Zach Grech (Stanford) got his first start of the season. He went 4 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out six. Justin Slaten (New Mexico) worked from the bullpen for the first time this season. He tossed 3.2 innings and allowed four runs, three earns. Slaten struck out three. Austin George came in for the final 1.1 innings. He gave up two runs on one hit and three walks.
Eau Claire will finish the last road trip of the season with one 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 5:05pm and game 2 will begin aprox 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, 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.