Eau Claire WI – This time it was the Waterloo Bucks who found themselves to be on the wrong side of the final score, as the Eau Claire Express shut them out 16-0.

Once again solid pitching combined with a lot of offense from the Eau Claire squad proved to be the winning formula. Cory Ronan (Hawaii) was the first man on the bump for the Express, and he looked sharp, working his way out of several early-game jams, where Waterloo threatened to score. Those threats turned out to be empty though, as not a single run was given up by the pitching combination of Ronan, Nick Fitzanko (Missouri-St. Louis), and Cal Higgins (Western Kentucky).

Three Express batters had two-hit games in this contest, namely Brigs Richartz (St. Thomas), Reed Latimer (Montevallo), and Dylan O’Connell (St Thomas). In fact, all but 2 players in the Eau Claire lineup had a hit tonight, making for a very productive night on the basepaths.

Defensively there were some great plays made by a variety of Men in Orange, including most notably a charging, tagging, hopping, and throwing 6-3 double play by shortstop DJ Massey (Central Arizona) in the 8th.

Perhaps the biggest story of the afternoon, though, was that for the second night in a row, history was made at Carson Park. Rayth Petersen (UIC) became the first player in Express team history to hit for the cycle as he doubled in the 3rd, homered in the 4th, singled in the 7th, and improbably shot the gap for a triple in the bottom of the 8th. In addition to being the first player to complete this feat in team history, he is also the first player to hit for the cycle in the Northwoods League since 2021.

After all of the excitement and all of the Express runs, the final scoreboard flashed 16-0, along with 15 hits by the team, in 38 At-Bats.

The Express are back at Carson Park tomorrow with a game time of 6:35 p.m. CST. They will again be facing the Waterloo Bucks, and the theme for the night is “Bark in the Park.” Be sure to stop on by the game, and bring your dog with you too, as the team will be handing out free dog bowls to fans, presented by Embark.

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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’ 29^th 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.