Eau Claire, Wis. – It was a sour ending to an up-and-down season for the Express.
Eau Claire dropped its season finale to Waterloo 14-5, finishing the 2025 campaign by being swept at home by the Bucks. Each team scored a run in the second inning before Waterloo posted a three-run fourth inning and never looked back.
The Bucks got on the board first against Express starter Walker Retz (St. Thomas) as Mitchell Iliff singled and stole second base before eventually scoring on Patrick Mendiola’s RBI single two batters later. Eau Claire responded immediately as a trio of singles brought a run home, with Gabe Richardson’s (Minnesota–Duluth) single to right field scoring JJ Moran (Stanford).
Neither side scored in the third, but Waterloo broke through and took control in the fourth. Iliff replicated his single and stolen base two innings earlier to reach second, this time scoring on a single from Caleb Parker. Mendiola walked and both runners advanced on a groundout, giving Marcus Heusohn a pair of RBIs on his ensuing single to put the Bucks ahead 4-1.
Waterloo continued to add on an inning later as Cole Smith singled and Jimmy Nugent homered two batters later to put his team ahead 6-1. Retz worked a strikeout but then exited the game as manager Dale Varsho turned to Kale Hopke (Charleston Southern) out of the bullpen. Cort MacDonald (Stanford) scored in the bottom half of the inning on a wild pitch but the deficit was four when the inning ended.
The sixth inning did not fare much better for Eau Claire as Waterloo added four more runs on three hits and five walks. The Bucks added another on a sacrifice fly in the seventh to push the lead to 11-2.
The best offensive frame of the game for the Express came in the home half of the seventh as Jaxon Schumacher (Bradley) snuck a three-run home run over the short porch wall in right field to cut the deficit to 11-5. The blast was Schumacher’s second of the season.
There was no comeback to be though, as Waterloo posted another three runs in the top of the ninth to bring the final score to 14-5.
The Express finished the season with a second half record of 19-19 and an overall record of 32-29.
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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.
