Waterloo, IA – The Second Half Champion, Eau Claire Express (21-13), beat the Waterloo Bucks (14-18) at Riverfront Stadium in the final regular season game of 2019. It was an offensively driven game as the Express recorded 15 hits in the 11-7 victory.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap
The Express jumped out to a 1-0 lead right away in the top of the 1st inning. Brock Burton (Grand Canyon) walked and stole second base. Vincent Martinez (Stanford) drove Burton in on an RBI single.
Eau Claire continued the offensive power by scoring 4 runs in the 3rd. Nick Marinconz (Cal Poly) started with a single and moved to second on a David LaManna (Notre Dame) single. Martinez had the big 2 RBI single to plate both runners. The bases were loaded after walks issued to Sam Kohnle (Winona State) and Connor Laspina (Flagler College). Sam Stonskas (Blackhawk CC) singled to left and plated Martinez. Kohnle scored later in the inning on a Bucks error to put the Express up 5-0.
The 4th inning saw another run come home. Marinconz singled and LaManna doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Martinez added another RBI as Marinconz scored on his ground out.
The Bucks finally started to get things started in the bottom of the 5th inning as three runs scored on three hits and a walk to cut the Express lead to 5-3.
Responding nicely, the Trains drove in three runs in the 6th. Marinconz, LaManna, and Martinez all singled to load the bases. Kohnle drew a bases loaded walk to score Marinconz, LaManna scored on a fielder’s choice, and Martinez came in on an error by the Bucks catcher. The score sat at an 8-3 Express lead heading to the bottom half.
Waterloo attempted a comeback after scoring a run in the 7th inning and three runs in the 8th but could not tie the game or take the lead.
The Express added two insurance runs in the 9th. Once again, the bases loaded right away after singles from Kohnle and Dieter and Laspina was hit by a pitch. Kohnle raced home on a wild pitch and Dieter scored on a ground out to put the score to the final of 11-7.
The Eau Claire Express are playoff bound! Game 1 of the 2019 Northwoods League Playoffs will be held on Monday, August 12th in Waterloo, IA. Playoff baseball will return to Carson Park on Tuesday, August 13th in Game 2 of a best-of-three series. The Express will take on the Bucks with a 6:35 pm first pitch. Tickets to Tuesday’s home game at Carson Park can be purchased HERE.
Click HERE and use promo code KT5GameExp for a special ticket package. For $15 dollars this ticket package includes a grandstand ticket to the game and a 90-minute buffet of food and beverage at the game. See you at 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 and set the Express as your favorite team.