La Crosse WI – Eau Claire once again faced their division rival La Crosse Loggers, this time at La Crosse’s home diamond of Copeland Park. The Express showed some improvement in their second game of the young season, but ultimately Eau Claire lost to the Loggers with a final score of 2-4.
The starting pitching for the Loggers once again proved to be strong, as La Crosse’s starter, Kenan Elarton, gave up no earned runs in his outing. Eau Claire did, however, drive in batter Kaden Galason (Belmont) on an error by the catcher in the top of the 4th inning. Galason had a strong night at the plate, going 2 for 4 on the night, and getting a single in the 4th that put him in position to score.
The relievers for the Express were solid tonight as Michael Trausch (Central Arizona) came in to pitch in the 3rd, and lasted 4 innings. Trausch gave up just 2 hits and 1 run, but struck out 7 in a commanding fashion.
The bottom of the 6th and the top of the 7th featured back-to-back 1-2-3 innings for both clubs as La Crosse and Eau Claire each failed to get hits off each other’s pitcher.
The Express scored their only other run of the game in the top of the 8th, as Barry Eiseman (Montevallo) opened things up with a well-hit single. This was followed by a Galason single, where he reached first base and stole second for good measure. This paid off later on, as Jason Krol (Lewis) hit a single, which drove in the speedy Galason, and put Eau Claire within striking distance of the Loggers.
In the top of the 9th, Rayth Peterson (UIC) reached base on a walk with two outs. The tying run came to the plate but was not able to capitalize as the final batter for Eau Claire struck out, ending the game.
The Express will travel to Willmar tomorrow to face the Stingers at 7:05 p.m. CST.
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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.