Bismarck N.D. – In a rainy game in Bismarck North Dakota, the Express couldn’t quite pull out the win in an 11-inning shootout with the Larks. The final score read 3-4.
This game marked the first start of the season for pitcher Jake Matthaidess (Oakland University), joining the team following a solid campaign in the West Coast. His night went fairly smoothly, as he was able to get through 6 innings with minimal damage, only giving up 2 runs and recording 6 strikeouts. He was later relieved by often-used Dillon Schueler (Sauk Valley CC), who stepped up in the 7th inning and ended up finishing out the long game for the Express. These two pitchers did all they could to limit the Larks, but the Bismarck squad got the best of them in the end.
Eau Claire could have benefitted from more offense tonight, as they weren’t able to get too much going at the plate. When they did find themselves on the bases, they were not always able to capitalize, as they ended the night with a total of 14 runners left on base.
Their first scoring bout came in the top of the 2nd inning when Ryan Nagelbach (UIC) scored on an error by the opposing 3rd baseman. Their second run of the game came a little later in the top of the 6th when DJ Massey (Central Arizona) singled, moving runners up 90 feet, and scoring Camden Ross (Western Kentucky) from 3rd base.
From there, things turned into a defensive duel from each team, as the scoring stalled with each squad trading zero run innings and sending the game to Extras.
Then, in the top of the 10th, Dallan Quigley (NDSU) gave the Express hope, by scoring baserunner Reed Latimer (Montevallo) on a Sacrifice Fly. This put Eau Claire up by one, but Bismarck quickly responded with a run of their own in the bottom of that same inning with a Sac Fly of their own.
Finally in the bottom of the 11th inning, after the Express failed to score their baserunner on 2nd, the Larks took care of business, scoring the game’s final run in walk0ff fashion. As C.J. Cepicky stepped up to the plate, he singled and drove in the winner for Bismarck.
Eau Claire will face the Larks again tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. CST. Tune into the game on ESPN+ to watch the two teams rematch and square off in what should make for another exciting contest.
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