Express Bolster Roster with Six New Signings

Colen is a familiar face for Express fans as he returns for his second season. In the 2017 season with the Express, the San Francisco native posted a 1-1 record and a 1.38 ERA over 13 relief innings. This season as a junior for the Mustangs, Colen was primarily used out of the bullpen, appearing in 8 games while making one start. On the bump, he has 12 strikeouts and has worked 12.1 innings.

Dylan Villalobos

6’4″

215

La Habra, CA

Cal Poly

Villalobos will join his other Cal Poly teammates in their trek to the Midwest this summer. The RHP has made 21 relief appearances as a sophomore and currently has a 6.43 earned run average over the course of 28 innings. Villalobos currently has a 10.29 K/9 rate with 32 strikeouts on the season. He continues to improve and has the potential to be one of the Mustangs top relievers next season.

Alec Baker

6’3″

187

Eastlongmeadow, MA

Dallas Baptist

Baker has yet to make his collegiate debut with the Patriots. As a three-year letterman at East Longmeadow High School, Baker was named a 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American. He was also awarded a Northeast Second Team All-Region selection by Perfect Game following his senior season. Baker comes to the Express with prior summer ball experience, having competed for the Dream Bat Bombers during the summer of 2018.

Nate Davis

5’10”

185

Manhattan, IL

Triton College

Davis will join the Express after completing a strong freshman campaign for the Trojans. Having been used as both a starter and out of the bullpen, Davis has made 10 appearances with five starts. He has compiled a 3.33 ERA in 27 innings of work. Davis holds a 0-2 record with a 1.70 WHIP and 29 strikeouts.

Boone Montgomery

INF

6’1

180

Grapevine, TX

UT Arlington

Having started in 39 of his 41 games played as a Maverick, Montgomery is looking to be a consistent threat in the Express lineup. While donning the orange and blue during the spring of 2019, he has hit for a .248 average and driven in 15. Montgomery has found success during previous summer baseball experiences. In June of 2018, he played for the Liberal BeeJays of the Jayhawk Baseball League, finishing with a strong .313 batting average.

Matt Bottcher

INF

5’10”

180

Romeoville, IL

Illinois-Chicago

Bottcher adds some valuable experience to the Express roster. The junior has started in all 41 games played and has a .275 AVG with 34 runs scored. Bottcher is also strong defensively, obtaining a .910 fielding %. Earning postseason accolades, he was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team following the 2018 season.

Single-game tickets are now on sale for Express games this summer. Head on down to our offices or call us at 715-839-7788 to take in the fun all season long.

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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 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 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 (MIA). 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.