Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express (18-13) dropped a heartbreaker to the Bismarck Larks (11-22) on Thursday night at Carson Park. After falling behind early, the Express fought back in the late innings to put the game within a run but fell short as the loss to the Larks by a final of 7-6.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap
Bismarck shot out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning on two walks, two hits, and one error.
The Express answered nicely, plating two runs of their own in the bottom half. Cole Cabrera (Cal Poly) began with a single and was followed by Brock Burton’s (Grand Canyon) single. Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) came up with the big 2 RBI double to put the score at 4-2.
The Larks added one more in the 2nd inning to take a 5-2 lead on a walk and a single.
Eau Claire put one on the board in the 4th. Brandon Dieter (Stanford) singled and advanced to second base when Cabrera was hit by a pitch. Burton slashed an RBI double to score Cabrera and bring the score to 5-3.
Bismarck shut down the Express advance in the top of the 6th by scoring two runs on three hits and an error.
The Express had a promising comeback in 9th but ultimately fell short after 3 runs scored. Dieter started with a single and advance to second on a Lark’s second baseman. Sam Stonskas (Blackhawk CC) singled and was followed by Cabrera’s RBI single that scored Dieter. Stonskas scored on a two base error by Bismarck’s pitcher and Cabrera came in on Matt Bottcher’s (Illinois-Chicago) RBI double. This put the score at the 7-6 final.
Colt Mink (Flagler College) took the loss after giving up 5 runs in 2.0 innings on four walks and four hits. Brad Rindfleisch (UW Stout) was great for 4.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on seven hits and one run. Wyatt Stute (Nebraska Wesleyan) entered for the final 2.1 scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout.
The Express complete the regular home season tomorrow night, Friday, August 9th for 7:05 pm first pitch. Join the Express as we wrap up our final regular season home game with great prizes and awesome 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 and set the Express as your favorite team.