Express Fall to Larks in Game Three

Bismarck, ND – The Eau Claire Express (0-3) rallied throughout Thursday night’s contest in Bismarck before falling to the Larks (3-0) by a score of 16-8.

Bismarck scored in bunches throughout the night, extinguishing Eau Claire’s hopes of a late-game comeback. The Lark bats were hot early, carving out a 7-0 lead against the Express by the end of the second inning, and again late, tagging on six runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Eau Claire rallied between the third and sixth innings, drawing the Bismarck lead to within one run before falling off of the pace set by the Larks. Reid Bass was one of two Eau Claire players to have a multi-hit game Thursday night. The freshman from the Cumberland University provided a spark for the Express offense in the third inning, doubling to center field and capping a four-run inning for the visitors.

Trailing 7-4, Sam Kohnle (Winona State) scored a run in the fifth for Eau Claire, before the Express added a pair of runs in the sixth to narrow the Bismarck lead to 8-7. The Larks would go on to score eight unanswered, including a Cole Taylor three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, extending their lead to 16-7. A Garett Lake (Pima CC) RBI double would pull one back for the Express in the ninth, but a late-game rally was not meant to be.

Andrew Tri (St. Thomas) started the game for the Express and tossed two innings, striking out three batters and giving up seven runs, taking the loss. Colt Mink (Flagler) entered in the third inning and compiled six strikeouts over five innings pitched, conceding 3 runs. Lake finished the game for the Express on the mound and ended the night with two strikeouts over an inning of work, yielding the final six runs. Both Bass and Kohnle finished the night with two hits for Eau Claire.

Eau Claire will play one final game against the Larks in Bismarck Friday evening at 7:35 pm before returning home to take on the Duluth Huskies Saturday at Carson Park

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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.