Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express returned home to Carson Park to face the Waterloo Bucks after an undefeated 3-game road trip. Even though the actual fireworks didn’t start until after the game, the Express gave the fans a firework show of their own, beating the Bucks 14-1.

Both the offense and pitching showed up for the Express in their best overall game of the season. The whole team showed great patience at the plate, leading to nine walks. The offense was led by Charlie Szykowny (UW-Stout) who reached base four times, highlighted by his grand slam in the 8th inning to put the game completely out of reach. Peter Brookshaw (North Dakota State) contributed two hits and an RBI in his Express debut while Reed Latimer (Montevallo) added two hits and Clay Conn (UIC) drove in two runs in the 14-run effort.

Ben Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth) was nothing short of spectacular in his first outing of the season. The righty allowed just four hits and one unearned run while mowing down seven Waterloo batters in six innings of work. Tyler Ingram (UIC) and Matt Helwig (Lewis) made sure that no comeback would occur, combining for three shutout innings and six strikeouts.