La Crosse, WI – The Eau Claire Express (1-0, 20-17) defeated the La Crosse Loggers (0-1, 17-20) by a final score of 7-1 on Wednesday night at Copeland Park. After narrowly missing the playoffs by one game in the first half, the Express started on the right track after this victory on the opening game of the second half.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap:
La Crosse got their first and only run in the bottom of the 1st inning. This came on a monstrous solo home run hit by their designated hitter, Ryan Holgate.
The Express started up their engines in the top of the 3rd inning, scoring two runs to go up 2-1. Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) lead off with a walk and moved to 2nd base on a single by Matt Bottcher (Illinois-Chicago). The bases were loaded after Troy Beilsmith (Evansville) reached on an error. All the runners moved up one back, and Myers scored, on another Loggers error that allowed David LaManna (Notre Dame) to safely reach. Nick Lopez (Illinois-Chicago) followed with a bases loaded walk to drive in the second run of the inning.
Two more scored in the 4th for Eau Claire. Connor Laspina (Flagler College) singled and stole second. Cole Cabrera (Cal Poly) bumped him to third base on a single. Cabrera stole second on the next pitch. Myers hit a sacrifice fly to the center fielder to play Laspina. Cabrera scored on a successful double steal put in play by the trains.
Another run came in the top of the 5th. Singles from Brandon Dieter (Stanford) and Lopez, plus a walk from Cabrera, loaded the bases. Myers slashed an RBI single through the middle infielders to plate Dieter.
The 8th inning saw an Express run come home. Troy Beilsmith (Evansville) walked followed by Dieter walk. Beilsmith rounded third and scored easily on an RBI single hit by Lopez.
The final insurance run came in the top of the 9th. Myers got to first base on a fielder’s choice and, after stealing second, scored on Matt Bottcher’s RBI single. This put the Express up to the final of 7-1.
Colt Mink (Flagler) was fantastic on the mound. The starter tossed 7.0 innings giving up only one run on the solo home run. Mink allowed just four hits and walked three batters while striking out six. Newcomer, Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist) entered for the final 2.0 innings. He did not give up a hit or run and struck out two batters.
The Express return to Carson Park, tomorrow. July 4th. It will be a 5:05 pm first pitch against the La Crosse Loggers with gates opening at 3:30. Celebrate Independence Day with the Express and post-game fireworks!
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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.