Another week of Eau Claire Express baseball is in the books! We had a number of exciting promotions, exciting games, and entertaining moments in the early goings of June. Let’s break it all down.
The Trains opened this week with a home and away series against the Rochester Honkers, where they lost game one (Jun 5) at Carson Park in offensive explosion, 16-13. However, they were able to head out to Rochester and secure a 6-2 win (June 6) to split the series.
Eau Claire would follow that with a four game homestand, which began against the Willmar Stingers. The Express were able to sweep the Stingers, with final scores of 10-4 (Jun 7) and 13-7 (Jun 8). However, the Trains would be halted in their tracks by the Waterloo Bucks, who swept them by scores of 10-8 (Jun 9) and 12-6 (Jun 10). The Express would finish their homestand with a 2-2 record.
From there, Eau Claire traveled to Wausau for another home and away series (Jun 11-12), in which they dropped both games. Following that, the Express split a road series with Waterloo, winning game one 7-5 (Jun 13) and dropping game two 11-6 (Jun 14).
The Express began a four game stint against the Duluth Huskies, however, game one was suspended due to heavy rain. The rescheduled date saw the Express begin their first day of doubleheaders. They split the first doubleheader yesterday in Duluth, with final scores of a 7-4 loss in game one (Jun 16) and a 6-5 win in game two (Jun 16). They will conclude the four game stretch with a double header today, with game times set for 12:05pm CT and 6:35pm CT.
The Express offense had another strong week, with Brigs Richartz (St. Thomas) leading the offense with three home runs in his last 10 games. Newcomer Emilio Barreras (Grand Canyon) has also gotten off to hot start, as the GCU product has tallied 6 hits and 4 RBIs in his last 10 games.
For the pitching staff, it was Zach Lyles (Wester Kentucky) who led the starters this week, starting two games, pitching 10 innings, allowing five earned runs and recording 14 strikeouts. For the relievers, Henry Wilkinson (Minnesota- Duluth) threw eight innings, allowing two earned runs while recording seven strikeouts.
Coming up this week, the Express finish a four game set with a doubleheader against the Duluth Huskies today. After that, the Trains head home to take on the La Crosse Loggers, followed by a four game road trip against the Badlands Big Sticks and the Willmar Stingers.
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. Entering its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team 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.