Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express won a back-and-forth game on Thursday night against the La Crosse Loggers by the final score of 4-3. The Express are now 21-5 at home this season and hold a three-game lead over La Crosse for the second half title.

Both offenses got on the board in the 1st, showing no rust from the All-Star Break. The Loggers got things going with a two-run bomb from Carson Hornung (South Carolina), but the Express cut the deficit to one in the bottom half on an RBI groundout from Benjamin Rosengard (Rice) after a lead-off triple from Cadyn Schwabe (North Dakota State).

The pitching for both teams tightened up after the 1st with no scoring occurring until the 5th inning when Reed Latimer (Montevallo) and Jake Sapien (Stanford) knocked back-to-back RBI singles to give Eau Claire a 3-2 lead. La Crosse would answer right back though on a solo shot off the bat of Ronnie Sweeny III (Minnesota). The bats went quiet again until the 9th when the Loggers put two on base, but Charlie Szykowny (UW-Stout) was able to work out of the jam and keep the game tied. The Express would proceed to load the bases with no outs and win on a hit-by-pitch received by Sam Kuchinski (Montevallo).

Eau Claire starter Alec Baker (Dallas Baptist) was bit by the home run bug, giving up two round-trippers but still struck out nine in 5.1 innings. Chris Baytosh (Cal Poly) was fantastic in relief, allowing one hit and three walks while setting down five Loggers via strikeout. Schwabe had three hits and reached base in all five plate appearances while Jake Sapien (Stanford) also had three hits including his RBI single.

The Express travel to La Crosse tomorrow for the second and final game of the series as they look to increase their divisional lead.

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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.