Eau Claire, WI – On a hot summer night in the Chippewa Valley, the Express bounced back from their three game losing streak to secure a 14-8 win against the Thunder Bay Border Cats.
The Express’ bats got off to a great start in this one, pushing across six runs in the first three innings. In the first it was Davis Rivers (Texas Tech) who got it started with an RBI single, followed by a Thunder Bay error that increased the Trains lead to 3-1. The Trains would follow that with a three run third inning, thanks to a returning Jake Busson (Iowa Central CC) RBI single and a Brady Blake (Kansas) two RBI double to push the Express lead to 6-1.
The Floodgates were opened in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Rivers (Texas Tech) would hit a grand slam, pushing the Eau Claire lead to 10-2. This marked the third Express grand slam of their 2024 campaign.
The Border Cats would push across three runs in the top of the seventh, two in the eighth, and one more in the ninth, but back to back moonshots by returnee Jake Busson (Iowa Central CC) and Colton Wemhoff (Kansas) sealed the deal.
The Trains received a fantastic start from Ryan Speshyock (Stanford), who threw for six innings, allowing only two runs and tossing six strikeouts and getting the win (1-0). Kansai Sugimoto (Yavapai) took the loss (1-2) for the Border Cats.
The Express look to grab the series sweep against Thunder Bay tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 6:35pm CT at Carson Park.
https://scorebook.northwoodsleague.com/update/4173/statistics/stats/home/batting/game
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.
