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La Crosse, WI – The Eau Claire Express (15-17) rolled the La Crosse Loggers (14-18) on Friday Night at Copeland Park. Express runs were easy to come by in the middle innings as Eau Claire won 12-5.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap:
One run went on the board for the Express in the top of the 2nd inning to start the game’s scoring. Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) walked and stole second base during the next at bat. Vincent Martinez (Stanford) drove him in on an RBI single.
Power pushed a run to score in the beginning of the 4th inning. Troy Beilsmith (Evansville) sent a solo shot over the left field wall to put the Express up 2-0. Later in the top of the inning, Myers reached and advanced to second base on an error by the Loggers pitcher. Martinez slashed an RBI double to score Myers.
The Loggers responded in the bottom of the 4th inning. Four runs would score for La Crosse on five hits and one error.
Eau Claire went back ahead in the 5th inning, 5-4, after two runs scored. Phillip Sikes (Pima CC) walked and Matt Bottcher (Illinois-Chicago) was hit by a pitch. Troy Beilsmith singled to left field and moved to second on an error by the left fielder. Both Sikes and Bottcher scored on that error.
The game broke open in the top of the 6th inning. Four runs came home to put the Express up 9-4. Vincent Martinez, Sam Kohnle (Winona State), and Connor Laspina (Flagler) started with three straight singles. Martinez scored on an E7, while Kohnle went to third base and Laspina to second. Cole Cabrera (Cal Poly) plated both runners on a 2 RBI double. Cabrera advanced on a Sikes single and tagged up on Bottcher’s sac fly to score. The Loggers would take back one run in the bottom of the 6th, putting the score to 9-5 in favor of Eau Claire.
The Express kept rolling in the 7th inning, scoring the final three runs of the ballgame. Brandon Dieter (Stanford) doubled to start. Kohnle walked and Laspina was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Cole Cabrera took ball 4 and walked in a run. Sikes hit a 2 RBI single to score Kohnle and Laspina and put the score to the final of 12-5.
Memorial alum, Tanner Kohlhepp (Tennessee), took the mound to start for the Express. The freshman went 3.1 innings and gave up four runs, three were earned. Noah Denoyer (San Joaquin Delta) pitched 2.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits and a walk. Brannon Jordan (Cowley CC) was strong over 3.0 scoreless innings while striking out six.
The Express returns to Carson Park on Saturday, June 29 to face the Duluth Huskies at 6:35 pm. It’s Cheese Curd Appreciation Night! Wisconsin and cheese curds, is there any better combination? Carson Park will feature awesomely cheesy jokes and cheese curds concessions all night long. We can’t wait to see you there!
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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.
