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Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express (3-0) one hit the Willmar Stingers (2-1) to win the Great Plains Championship Title. Eau Claire’s pitching was dominant in the 2-0 victory.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap
Scoring opened up in the bottom of the 4th inning when the Express plated a run. Zach Gilles (Central Michigan) lead off with a walk and advanced to third base on a Matt Bottcher (Illinois-Chicago) single. Gilles showed his lighting speed and raced home on a wild pitch to give Eau Claire a 1-0 lead.
Eau Claire added one more in the 6th inning. With two outs in the inning, Nick Marinconz (Cal Poly) started things with a single. Brandon Dieter (Stanford) followed with a double to put both runners in scoring position. Connor Laspina (Flagler) came up with an RBI single to score Marinconz and put Eau Claire up 2-0.
Pitching was terrific for the Express. Andrew Tri (St. Thomas) started and tossed 3.0 scoreless innings, recording five strikeouts. Jack Brown (Minnesota-State) earned the win after throwing 4.0 innings of relief. Brown didn’t allow a run and gave up just one hit and one walk. Peyton Sherlin (Dallas Baptist) got the save after 2.0 scoreless innings to end the game and secure the victory.
Your Eau Claire Express claimed the Great Plains Championship and will now advance to the Northwoods League Summer Collegiate World Series to face the Traverse City Pit Spitters on Friday in Traverse City! Stay tuned to the Express website and social media for more updates regarding the championship 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.
