Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express (8-3, 27-20) thumped the Thunder Bay Border Cats (1-10, 15-31) on a beautiful Saturday night at Carson Park. A huge 4th propelled the Express to an 11-3 victory.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap:
The Express started the game off on the right track, scoring a run in both the 1st and 2nd innings. In the 1st, Cole Cabrera (Cal Poly) walked and then stole second. He advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by Zach Gilles (Central Michigan).
In the following 2nd inning, Brandon Dieter (Stanford) was hit by a pitch. Dieter moved all the way to third base due to an error by the Border Cats pitcher on a failed pickoff attempt. Brock Burton (Grand Canyon) hit an RBI single to score Dieter.
The Trains were rolling in the bottom of the 4th inning. 8 runs scored after the Express sent 14 batters to the plate. Connor Laspina (Flagler College) lead off with a solo home run over the left field wall. Gilles and Matt Bottcher (Illinois-Chicago) walked in the next two at bats. Troy Beilsmith (Evansville) drove in Gilles on an RBI single and David LaManna (Notre Dame) followed suit and hit his own RBI single to score Bottcher.
After a Thunder Bay pitching substitution, Eau Claire continued to find offensive success in the 4th inning. Nick Lopez ripped an RBI single to score Beilsmith. Brandon Dieter followed with a walk to load the bases with Lopez at second and LaManna at third. Connor Laspina cleared the bases on a 3 RBI double and later scored on a Gilles double. This put the score to a commanding 10-0
Thunder Bay’s three runs came in the top of the 5th inning on three hits and two walks.
The final Express run came in the bottom of the 7th. Bottcher led off with a single and scored on Nick Lopez’s RBI double to put the score at the final 11-3.
Alec Baker (Dallas Baptist) got the start for Eau Claire and went 4.0 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and five walks. Tim Ewald (Dallas Baptist) finished with 5.0 innings of relief and did not allow a run. Ewald struck out 5.
The Express finish the home stand tomorrow afternoon for a 2:05 first pitch. Congregate at Carson Park this Sunday with special group discounts on Faith Night. Then, stick around after the game for a specialty poster giveaway and player autographs!
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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.