Duluth, MN – The Eau Claire Express (3-1, 22-18) were strong against the Duluth Huskies (2-2, 15-25) on Saturday night at Wade Stadium. After taking an early lead, the Express offense continued to power past the Huskies on the way to a 9-1 victory.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap
For the second night in a row, the Express got things started in the top of the 2nd. The bases loaded after a Vincent Martinez (Stanford) single, Brandon Dieter (Stanford) single, and a walk from Brock Burton (Grand Canyon). Cole Cabrera (Cal Poly) drew a bases loaded walk and scored Martinez, putting the Express up 1-0.
Duluth’s lone run came in the bottom of the 3rd inning on two hits and a sac fly.
Another run was walked in during the top of the 4th inning. Once again, the bases quickly loaded. Martinez singled and was followed by walks issued to Dieter and Cabrera. Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) took a four pitch walk to score the second Eau Claire run of the night.
Two more came in the top of the 7th for the Express. Troy Beilsmith (Evansville) and Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) walked. Dieter drove both runners in on a big 2 RBI double and gave Eau Claire a 4-1 lead.
The Trains were rolling in the top of the 8th inning, putting up 5 runs in the inning. Burton started off with a triple and was followed by Cabrera’s walk. Gilles singled, scoring Burton and moving Cabrera to 3rd. Matt Bottcher (Illinois-Chicago) continued his success against the Huskies, as he singled in Cabrera. After a pitching substitution, the Express got right back to work. Beilsmith singled to plate Gilles and Bottcher scored on an error by the Duluth shortstop. Dieter hit his second double of the game later in the inning, allowing Beilsmith to score. This put the ballgame at 9-1 which held as the final.
Nick Alvarado (Illinois-Springfield) got the win for the Express tonight after going a strong 6.0 innings. The 6’7 junior allowed just one run and struck out five. Eau Claire native, Jack Brown (Minnesota State), tossed 2.0 scoreless innings and gave up three hits. Tim Ewald (Dallas Baptist) sealed the victory in the 9th inning. Ewald did not allow a base runner and struck out one.
The Express finish the series in Duluth tomorrow, July 7th, at 3:05pm. Eau Claire then returns 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.
