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Published On: June 29th, 2025

Eau Claire, Wis. – The Trains chugged ahead in the early going, but the Huskies barked back.

In the second game of a four-game set, Duluth poured runs on throughout the latter half of Saturday evening’s game to cruise to an 11-4 victory over Eau Claire at Carson Park. The Express notched two runs to pull ahead 4-2 in the fourth, but the Huskies immediately responded with a five-run fifth to take control of the game for good.

Each side got the scoring started early as the scoreboard read 2-2 after the opening frame. Duluth scored both runs on a towering two-run home run to left off the bat of Michael Smith, while the Express pieced together a walk and a pair of RBI singles from Quinton Coats (Cincinnati) and McGwire Turner (Montevallo) to quickly tie the game back up. Both starting pitchers settled in after the rocky start, with the minimum number of batters stepping to the plate over the next two innings of play.

Eau Claire broke through to take the lead in the fourth, again using small ball to manufacture two runs. Three consecutive singles brought in the first run of the inning with Nick Mascaro’s (Cal State Bakersfield) knock doing the job before a second run scored one batter later on a double play.

The lead did not last long for the Trains. Duluth roughed up starting pitcher Zach Diver (Doane) in the top of the fifth inning, scoring five runs on six hits to go in front by three.

The lead only continued to grow throughout the contest as the Huskies added two more in the seventh and one more each in the eighth and the ninth.

The series heads back to Duluth for Game 3 Sunday afternoon before returning to the Chippewa Valley Monday evening for the finale of both the four-game set and the first half of the Northwoods League season. 

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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.