Eau Claire, WI – The Express finished their preseason roster announcements Friday afternoon after introducing six great additions to the 2019 roster.
| Najee Gaskins | OF | St. Cloud State |
Najee was a major role in St. Cloud State’s exciting 2019 season that ended with a run in the NCAA Division II Central Regional tournament. The speedy quick junior hit for a .360 average and stole 27 bases in 50 games for the Huskies. Gaskins was as strong as one could be defensively, holding a perfect 1.000% fielding percentage throughout the season.
| Jack Brown | RHP | Minnesota – State |
Jack Brown should be a familiar name to Old Abe and Chippewa Valley baseball fans alike. The Eau Claire Memorial Alumnus will return to Carson Park this summer after completing his freshman campaign with the Mavericks. While donning the Minnesota – State jersey this spring, Brown tossed 6.1 scoreless innings in seven relief appearances. Jack fashioned a 1.41 ERA with 83 strikeouts in over 70 innings during his senior year at Memorial High School.
| Graham Laubscher | LHP | St. Thomas |
One of the top pitchers for St. Thomas will be a strong arm for the Express this summer. Laubscher made a team-high eight starts with a 3.09 ERA in 58.1 innings. He compiled 67 strikeouts with only 19 walks while holding his opponents to a mere .210 batting average. Laubscher was awarded a 2019 All-MIAC team selection following the 2019 regular season.
| Andrew Tri | RHP | St. Thomas |
Andrew joins his Tommie teammate, Laubscher, on their way to Eau Claire. Mainly working out of the bullpen, the sophomore tossed 34.2 innings in 14 appearances and finished with a 5.45 ERA. Also receiving a postseason accolade, Tri was named to the MIAC All-Defensive team after having no errors on eight fielding plays.
| Sam Kohnle | INF | Winona State |
Kohnle started in all 45 games of the Warriors season and led the team in most offensive categories. He ranked first in batting average (.350), hits (55), doubles (11), and on-base percentage (.442). Kohnle owned a perfect 1.000% fielding percentage at first base. Working hard in the classroom as well, Sam earned NSIC All-Academic Team honors for the 2019 spring semester.
| Cole LaLonde | RHP | Century CC |
LaLonde was the leader of the Wood Ducks pitching staff. Splitting his time on the mound, the right hander had both five starts and five relief appearances. The sophomore held a 4-1 record with a 3.98 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched. Last summer, LaLonde was a member of the Alexandria Aces pitching staff in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League.
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.