Eau Claire, Wis. – An early lead wasn’t enough as pitching struggles granted a 7-6 loss to the Rochester Honkers on the Fourth of July.
Eau Claire Express Postgame Recap:
Underneath a sky full of fireworks, the Express faced the Honkers in Carson Park for the first game of their two-game series and started on the right foot in the bottom of the third inning.
As Philip Cheong was up to bat, he was ultimately walked. With Cheong on base, Matthew Maulik was delivered the first pitch, in which Maulik responded by sailing it across right field for a home run, bringing home Cheong and himself for a 2-0 lead.
The Express lead was safe until the sixth inning, in which things eventually fell apart for the Trains—starting with Sawyer Hoffman on the mound, who pitched five innings, striking out seven and dishing out five hits.
Despite his hard work, Hoffman grew tired in his sixth inning, which was trouble within itself, but was complemented with an error on the Express shortstop, in which the Honkers received their first two runs of the night, to even the score 2-2.
Taking the lead, Cooper Kruk hit a home run to left field, bringing home three more players, ultimately taking back the lead at 5-2.
Rochester’s momentum did not stop and instead carried into the seventh inning, where Jackson Norum crossed home plate off a Jackson Gluek groundout—quickly followed by Kruk, who walked to bring home Sam Harry to finish their lead at 7-2.
Despite the chances, the Express ultimately slowed down. Responding to the Honkers’ two runs in the seventh inning, the Trains earned four of their own, starting with Cheong hitting a double to center field, bringing home two runners. Followed by Maulik hitting his second home run of the game and fifth of the season to finish the score at 7-6.
Despite needing to earn at least one more run, the Express fell flat in the last two innings to finish the Fourth of July with a 7-6 loss.
The Express will face the Honkers once more on the road in Mayo Field at 5:05 p.m. Sunday.
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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.
