Duluth, Wis. –In a comeback during the eighth inning, the Eau Claire Express ended their two-game losing streak with an 8-3 victory over the Duluth Huskies on Friday night.
Eau Claire Express Postgame Recap:
The Express split their first series in a six-game road stint, losing 5-2 against Duluth on Thursday but making a comeback with an 8-3 victory on Friday.
Fixing past mistakes, the Trains rolled into Wade Stadium with a comeback victory on the agenda. Letting Duluth get its bats moving first with two secured runs in the bottom of the second inning, Eau Claire was quick to respond with two runs of its own at the top of the third inning.
Tied up after Matthew Maulik and CJ Varsho crossed home plate, the Express took their first lead of the game with another earned run by Maulik, who once again crossed home plate after Hollon Brock hit a single to center field.
Despite Duluth responding with another run of its own in the sixth inning to tie up the game once more at 3-3, the Trains clearly had enough. Starting with a single to short stop by Varsho, followed by two walks to get the bases loaded, Landon Ubrig hit a double to center field, bringing home Varsho and Brock in the eighth inning.
Quickly following another walk, Duluth changed out its pitcher, bringing in Luke Harrington. The Express continued to walk around the bases, bringing home Rickett and Ubrig to take the lead of 7-3.
The Huskies struggled on the mound throughout the game, with six pitchers making appearances and issuing 12 walks. On the opposite side of the diamonds, the Express put together eight walks and 10 strikeouts throughout their four pitchers.
Putting the cherry on top, Mikey Muniz crossed home plate after a fielder’s choice, RBI hit by Ubrig, to bring the final run score for the Trains to nine.
The Huskies had one final opportunity to stage a comeback and complete a sweep in the series. However, Express pitcher Olivier Martel had different intentions on the mound. He started strong with a strikeout, followed it up with a putout in left field for the second out, and then secured the third out with a foul ball catch by Ubrig.
The Trains will take the split series win, boosting their record to 5-7, before hitting the road once more to Dickinson, North Dakota, to face the Badlands Big Sticks at 6:35 p.m. Saturday.
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The Eau Claire Express is 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. Having completed its 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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 250 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 (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or Google Play and set the Booyah as your favorite team.
