Eau Claire, WI – The Express made up for their close loss yesterday with an impressive bounce-back win over the Border Cats 7-0.
In a game that saw Eau Claire’s pitchers give up no runs through 9 innings of play, the Express rotation of Cory Ronan (Hawaii), Dillon Schueler (Sauk Valley CC), and Taylor Montiel (Tulane) looked sharp. In addition to giving up zero runs, only 4 Border Cat Batters reached on hits.
Where Eau Claire excelled, Thunder Bay struggled as their bullpen stayed active all night long. 5 pitchers were called on to try and get the job done for the Canadian team, but not a single arm lasted more than 3 and 2/3 innings.
Offensively, the Express were sharp as well, as they consistently found ways on base. Starting Centerfielder Nate Witte (UW-Eau Claire) sparked the runs early on, becoming the first Man in Orange to cross home plate. He went 2-3 on the night with an RBI and two runs scored.
Although the team had 9 hits on the night, they made their mark on the scoreboard through crafty baserunning. A highlight of this skill came in the 6th inning when Cort MacDonald (Stanford) hit a deep shot to right field with the bases loaded. His ball was caught for a sacrifice fly out, but two runners tagged and scored, including Reed Latimer (Montevallo). Latimer, who started at Second Base, watched the Border Cats reeling after allowing lead runner Dylan O’Connell (St. Thomas) to score on this at-bat. As they stood in the field, Latimer seized his opportunity and rounded third base to take the plate, scoring the 4th run of a pivotal 6th inning.
Great pitching plus heads-up ball equaled a solid win for the home team as they are now tied with Thunder Bay for 1st place in the Great Plains East Division.
The Express will face the Border Cats again tomorrow night, this time at Thunder Bay. First pitch will come at 6:35 pm ET. Tune into the game on 106.7 Moose Country, or watch the live stream through the Northwoods League website. This pivotal matchup will help determine First-Half of the season records and lead to important playoff implications. Follow along, you won’t want to miss these ones!
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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’ 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, 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.