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Eau Claire,WI – The Eau Claire Express (12-7, 31-24) had a blowout victory over the Waterloo Bucks (7-12, 27-28) thanks to both stellar pitching and an electric offense. The Express found 12 runs under the Christmas tree on Christmas in July night as they won by a commanding 12-2 score.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap
The lone early inning run came in the bottom of the 1st inning for the Express. Brock Burton (Grand Canyon) singled and was followed by a Matt Bottcher (Illinois-Chicago) single. A fielder’s choice moved Burton to third and he later raced home on a wild pitch.
The game went quiet until the bottom of the 5th inning when the Express plated 5 runs. Burton led off with a walk. Birthday boy, Matt Bottcher, absolutely crushed a 2-run homer to right-center and put the Express up 3-0. Nick Marinconz (Cal Poly) wanted to get in on the power parade as he followed suit, blasting a solo shot to left to make it back-to-back jacks.
Waterloo got a run in the 6th inning on two doubles and a passed ball.
Two more scored for Eau Claire in the bottom of the 7th. Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) walked and Cole Cabrera (Cal Poly) was hit by a pitch. Burton hit an RBI single to score Gilles and move Cabrera to third. Bottcher drove in Cabrera on a sacrifice fly to left field that gave the Express an 8-1 lead.
The second and final Bucks run came in the top of the 8th. The run was scored after a walk, double, and sac fly.
Plenty of insurance runs came in the 8th inning for the Express. Four runs crossed home to bring the score to the final of 12-2. Sam Kohnle (Winona State) singled and Gilles walked. Sam Stonskas (Blackhawk CC) snuck an RBI single through the infield to score Kohnle. After a mound visit, Cole Cabrera did what he does best and walked to load the bases. Burton came up with a big 3 RBI triple to clear the bags.
Eau Claire native and Memorial Alum, Jack Brown (Minnesota-State) was fantastic on the mound, going 6.0 innings and allowing just one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out 6 batters. Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist) entered for 2.0 innings of relief and allowed a run on a hit and a walk. Another Eau Claire native and Memorial Alum, Zach Gustafson (Minnesota-State) came in for a scoreless 9th inning, striking out two.
Eau Claire continues the week-long homestand tomorrow night, Friday July 26th, for a 7:05 first pitch. It will be a jammed packed, action filled night at Carson Park! The ZOOperstars! are back! Baseball fan’s favorite entertainment Act will be on field and in the stands throughout the game. Then, join the Express and Mayo Health System while they honor an individual that has overcome a major medical diagnosis. Hear their story and watch as they take a symbolic run around the bases during Home Run for Life. The fun doesn’t end when the game does! Stick around for a beautiful postgame fireworks display. We cannot wait to see you at Carson Park tomorrow night!
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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.
