Eau Claire, WI– Express fall short in a battle with the Rox

Eau Claire Express Postgame Recap:

Tuesday night saw the Eau Claire Express take on the St. Cloud Rox in the two game of a two-game homestand for the Express. Eau Claire was looking to build off an unexpected win against the Rox the night before.

 This looked highly unlikely though after just three innings after Eau Claire’s starter Eddy Pelc (San Diego) was relieved by Shane Spencer (Central Arizona) with the bases loaded and nobody out. The Rox started swinging and hit recorded three hits in a row off Spencer. Then the Rox really began to pour it on, most notably with a Nate Swarts (Washington State) three-run homer into left-center field. 

With the score now at 0-8 St. Cloud it looked like the Express were dead and buried. The Trains scored a runoff a wild pitch thrown by Trevor Koenig (St. Cloud State) to Nick Marinconz (Cal Poly) in the bottom half of the third but that seemed like a mere consolation. It seemed all hope was lost for the Express until Anthony Chavez (Cal State Chico) stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth and hit Eau Claire’s second grand slam of the season. It was now a 5-8 ball game.

This boost of energy helped the Express come even closer to the previously insurmountable Rox lead in the seventh when Ryan Lin-Peistrup (UIC) drove in Zach Lechnir (Central Michigan) from second with a base hit. Then, in one of his last at bats for the Express, Greg Lewandowski (Montevallo) hit a blooper into right center to drive home Nick Marinconz from second, 7-8 ballgame. 

Sadly, though for Eau Claire, this was the end of the comeback. The Rox tacked on another in the eight and never looked back as they handed the Express their 19th loss of the season. 

Some positives though for the Express going forward, however, as the offense is beginning to improve and will get even better with the arrival of three position players from Stanford, fresh off a deep run in the College World Series, in the coming days. The Express will return to action at Carson Park on July 4th, where they will meet the Willmar Stingers. First pitch is at 5:05 p.m. (CT).

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The Eau Claire Express is a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 27^th season, the Northwoods 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 250 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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 Google Play and set the Booyah as your favorite team.