Waterloo, Wis. – Getting bats hot early, the Trains found themselves with early momentum off the first pitch, motivating them to secure a 6-1 victory over the Waterloo Bucks Wednesday night.
Eau Claire Express Postgame Recap:
Facing Waterloo starting pitcher Brody Zielinski, who gave up two walks, three runs and allowed five runs within the first eight batters he faced. The Express capitalized on Waterloo’s pitching struggles, gaining an early five runs in the first inning and starting with an error on the Bucks’ second baseman, bringing home Cade Palkowski, who started the inning with a single base hit to left field.
With Philip Cheong up to bat, he hit a single to left field, bringing home Hollon Brock, who got on base due to hitting a double to center field, then an advancement on third while Palkowski ran home.
Bases loaded, Sawyer Stein was walked, bringing home Jake Busson for a 3-0 run, quickly after Sean Cody was walked, bringing home Adam Salazar for a four-run lead before a pitching change.
Gannon Wentz was on the mound when he threw a pitch to Mikey Muniz, resulting in a groundout from shortstop to second base. This play recorded Muniz as the second out of the inning, but it allowed Cheong to score, extending their lead to 5-0 as the inning came to an end.
The Bucks did not respond again until the fifth inning, where they secured one run after a sacrifice fly.
Eau Claire secured one more run in the sixth inning to finish their runs earned at six after a wild pitch thrown to Palkowski brought home Cody.
Waterloo attempted a comeback late in the second half, securing two runs after a home run by Colin Coonraadt. Despite the homerun, the Trains held strong with their pitching, with Riley Fisher starting strong and dishing out eight strikeouts throughout six innings.
Fishers substitutions were Brock Adamson, who dished out three strikeouts, then Olivier Martel, who dished out one strikeout to close out the game.
The Trains will continue their momentum in Waterloo, taking on the Bucks once again at 6:35 p.m. Thursday.
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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.
