Eau Claire, WI – The Express entered this one in a win-or-go-home scenario as they looked to force a game 3 in an effort to advance to the Great Plains Divisional Championship. They were not able to do so, falling 4-3 to the Duluth Huskies.
Duluth would get on the board first with an RBI groundout in the 2nd inning. Their lead climbed to three after a two-run homer off the bat of Jack Painter (Cal Poly). Joe Vos (St. Thomas) tacked on another for the Huskies by way of an RBI single, pushing their advantage to four after four frames.
Eau Claire broke through in the bottom half of the 4th on an RBI single from Sam Kuchinski (Montevallo). The bats would go silent for a few innings before the Express cut the deficit to one with RBIs from Charlie Szykowny (UW-Stout) and Joe Yorke (Cal Poly).
Express starting pitcher JJ Pease (Montevallo) couldn’t quite find it on Monday night, going four innings and allowing as many runs with five strikeouts. Ethan Louthan (Oklahoma-Tonkawa) was lights out in relief of Pease, tossing four shutout frames and punching out five Husky batters. Matt Helwig (Lewis) struck out the side in the 9th.
Thank you to all our fans for the support this year and we look forward to having all of you back out to Carson Park in 2023!
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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 Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 29th 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, 300 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 (NYM), 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 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. 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.