Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express are red hot. They are now 6-0 in the midst of a seven-game stand after beating the Duluth Huskies 8-7 and 9-0 in a doubleheader on Thursday.
Game 1
The first game saw the Express come out looking somewhat lackadaisical, committing two errors and starter Trey Felker (Montevallo) throwing five wild pitches. Facing a 6-2 deficit in the 7th, the trains stormed back and scored five runs in 7th inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Peter Brookshaw (North Dakota State).
The Huskies would tie things up in the top of the 9th, sending the game to extra innings. Matt Helwig (Lewis) stonewalled the Husky offense in the 10th, keeping the automatic runner at 2nd base. The Express would go on to load the bases with no one out before Brookshaw hit a fielder’s choice to bring in the winning run, the third walkoff in as many days for Eau Claire.
Game 2
The latter-half of the doubleheader saw the Express pitching return to the form that we’ve seen much of this season. Ben Shepard (MN-Duluth) threw six shutout innings, allowing only four hits and a walk while picking up the win. Will Rizzo (Texas A&M) got his first save of the season by tossing three scoreless frames to shut down any hope for the Duluth offense.
The Eau Claire offense got a pleasant surprise out of the bottom of the order as the 7, 8, 9 hitters combined for six of the team’s seven RBIs. Tanner Marsh (St. Thomas) had a hit with two RBIs, Clay Conn (Illinois-Chicago) added an RBI-single, and Sam Hunt (Vanderbilt) topped it off with a three-run moonshot off the light pole in right field.
The Express will return to Carson Park for their seventh and final game of the home stand against the La Crosse Loggers at 7:05 CT.
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The Eau Claire Express is a member of the Northwoods League, the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players. The Northwoods League is the largest organized collegiate baseball league in the world, with 22 teams. With its friendly ballpark settings and high level of competition, it draws significantly more fans than any other league of its kind. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. You can also download the Northwoods League Mobile App and set the Express as your favorite team.