Eau Claire, Wis. – The bats were red hot on a warm Friday night in the Chippewa Valley.
Looking to halt a two-game skid, the Express exploded for 20 hits at Carson Park to cruise to a 15-6 victory over Duluth. Right-hander Easton Bobb (St. Thomas) posted an impressive outing, going six innings and giving up just three hits and one earned run to hold the Huskies quiet while the Eau Claire offense went to work. Second basemen McGwire Turner (Montevallo) and left fielder Joey Flom (Minnesota–Duluth) tallied five RBIs apiece to pace the Express offense.
Five efficient innings from Bobb allowed Eau Claire to build a comfortable 7-2 lead heading into the sixth as the Chippewa Falls native returned to the mound for a sixth and final frame. The 6-foot freshman worked a masterful 11-pitch, three-up-three-down inning to round out his outing. The quick inning gave the Express all the momentum and the offense responded accordingly.
A single from Matthew Cormier (Cal State Northridge) got the inning started, but it was the top of the order that did the damage. The leadoff hitter Flom lined a single to center to knock in the first two runs of the inning before a walk from Alex Hendrickson (St. Thomas) put two runners on. Turner took advantage, launching an opposite-field home run over the short fence in right field to score three and put Eau Claire up by double digits.
The Express got the scoring started in the second inning as Flom’s first of two doubles drove in two and Hendrickson brought him around just a pitch later with a single to center field. The barrage continued an inning later as Adam Salazar’s (Cal State Bakersfield) single up the middle plated a fourth run.
In the fifth, three straight Eau Claire batters reached to start the frame and put a runner at each base. Flom got the scoring party started again with an RBI single to right before Turner’s sacrifice fly and Nick Mascaro’s (Cal State Bakersfield) single each drove in another. By the time the inning ended, the home side had amassed a five-run advantage.
Flom knocked another double to the center-field wall and Turner added another RBI single in the eighth for good measure. Mascaro added another run-scoring base hit of his own as well for the final Eau Claire run of the evening.
Bridger Hamilton (Walters State CC) and Ben Llewellyn (Minnesota State–Mankato) carried the Express home on the mound, with the latter going 1.1 innings with no base runners and one strikeout.
Eau Claire travels to take on the Huskies in the return trip of the series in Duluth at 5:35 p.m. tomorrow.
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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. Entering its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history 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, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 380 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 (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford 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, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. 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.
