Minot N.D. – The Express were in Minot Monday night for their third game of the series. This one, like Sunday night, did not go Eau Claire’s way as they lost 1-11 to the Hot Tots.

Cory Ronan (Hawaii) took the mound first for his third start of the season. Experience did not prevail tonight though, as he reached the inning maximum for pitches in the first, throwing 35 to Minot batters. In his only inning of the ballgame, the Hot Tot hitters got to him. 4 runs were scored by the home team in the bottom of 1 coming off of a combination of walks and hits.

After Ronan, Eau Claire worked through their bullpen, trying out 3 other arms throughout the night. Nick Fitzanko (Missouri-St. Louis), Dillon Schueler (Sauk Valley CC), and Derek Lilledahl (MSU Mankato) all spent time on the mound. Of the three, Schueler had the longest outing and pitched effectively, throwing for 4.2 innings while giving up only 3 hits and 2 runs.

Offensively, the Express did a little better than last night’s outing, as they recorded 1 run. However, they were still 1o shy of the Hot Tots, as the North Dakota squad scored in the first, third, fourth, seventh, and eighth innings.

Despite only having 6 hits as a team, Dylan O’Connell (St. Thomas) and Ryan Nagelbach (UIC) each had solid nights at the plate, recording 2 hits a piece, with a double for both batters.

The Express will look to win the final game and split the series with Minot tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. CST. Tune in to watch the game live on the Northwoods League website or listen on the radio at 106.7 FM-Moose Country.

Boxscore

###

The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Entering its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 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, 325 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). League games are viewable live for FREE via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com as well as select games on ESPN+ and ESPNU. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.