Eau Claire, WI – In a game that lasted over 5 hours, the Express pulled out an improbable victory vs. the visiting Duluth Huskies, winning 10-9.

Things looked bleak for Eau Claire as clouds of rain and thunder descended on Carson Park midway through the 3rd inning. Duluth, already up by 2 was en route to scoring 5 in the top of this inning, on 3 homers, putting them up by 7 early in the ballgame.

As the rain picked up, play was paused and the two teams waited out the worst of the storm for the better part of 2 hours. After the storm settled and the infield was dry, however,  both teams were back in action.

It appeared that this lengthy rest was just what the doctor ordered for the Express, as the Men in Orange came out of the break fired up and ready to go. In the bottom of the 4th, the scoring train started on a Tanner Sagouspe (Cal Poly) single that brought Dylan O’Connell (St. Thomas) home. A couple more runs were added, which gave the home crowd that stuck around something to hope for.

Slowly but surely, the Express continued tacking runs on the board and creeping back up on the Huskies, who stagnated at 9 runs on the night. Pivotal offensive points of the game in these later innings were a Home Run by Ryan Nagelbach (UIC), and a 2-RBI blast from Nate Witte (UW-Eau Claire). Both of these two shots, paired with solid relief pitching from Jacob Taggart (Utah Tech) helped the team cruise through the second half of the game and sneak back into contention, as they went up 10-9 heading into the top of the 9th inning

Duluth’s final hopes of regaining the lead were squashed the second that closer Matt Helwig (Lewis) took the mound. He only needed to face 3 Husky batters, as he struck out the side, and recorded his 4th save of the year, and the Trains won the ball game.

The Express will be on the road tomorrow afternoon in a game against the Duluth Huskies at Wade Stadium beginning at 3:05 pm CT. Be sure to watch the team on the Northwoods League Website, or listen along on 106.7 FM-Moose Country.

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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’ 30^th 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, over 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). 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.