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Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express (1-1, 20-18) could not continue strong pitching and offense against the La Crosse Loggers (1-1, 18-20) on the 4th of July. Pitching faltered throughout the game, as the Express fell 11-5.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap:
The La Crosse Loggers took advantage of the rocky Express starting pitching performance and jumped out to a 6-0 lead by the 4th inning after scoring once in the 3rd and five in the 4th.
The Express responded in the home half of the 4th inning, scoring two runs of their own. With two outs in the inning, Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) singled. He moved to second base on a walk issued to Vincent Martinez (Stanford). Nick Lopez (Illinois-Chicago) singled to plate Gilles and advance Martinez to second. Brandon Dieter (Stanford) sliced an RBI double to score his Cardinal teammate and put the score to 6-2 Loggers.
After another run came in for La Crosse in the top of the 6th, Eau Claire again scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Troy Beilsmith (Evansville) and Gilles hit back-to-back singles. The bases were loaded after Martinez reached on an error by the Loggers third baseman. Beilsmith came in and scored when Lopez hit into a double play. In the following at bat, Dieter drove in Gilles on an RBI single. Then score was then 7-4 Loggers.
The final Express run came in the 7th inning. Myers singled and stole second base. He advanced to third base on a Martinez single and scored on a wild pitch. The Loggers put four more runs on the board in the final two innings to put the score to the final of 11-5 La Crosse.
Pitching faltered in the loss. Eau Claire native, Tanner Kohlhepp, got the start for the Express and went 3.1 innings. He gave up 6 runs on seven hits and seven walks. Kohlhepp struck out 8 Loggers. Noah Denoyer (San Joaquin Delta) came in for 2.2 innings of relief. He gave up a run on one hit. Jonathan Worley (Stanford) was next out of the pen. The 6’5 junior tossed 2.0 innings and allowed two runs. Kuster Kinlecheenie (Montevallo) pitched the 9th inning and also allowed two runs.
Eau Claire begins a three-day road trip to Duluth, MN to face the Huskies at Wade Stadium on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Express return to Carson Park on Monday, July 8th for a 6:35 pm first pitch. It’s Mystery Monday! Check out our social media in the coming days for a ‘Mystery Monday’ clue on how to receive a special discount to the game.
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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.
