Eau Claire, Wis. –  The Eau Claire Express secured a 5-1 victory over the Duluth Huskies Wednesday night, due to incomparable pitching and three home runs to finish game three of their four-game series.

The Express got their name on the board first with one run earned in the bottom of the second as Hollon Brock hit a home run to left field off the first pitch delivered, marking a 1-0 early lead and granting him his sixth home run of the season and 48th RBI.

Taking a two-inning break, the Trains picked back up their offensive momentum in the bottom of the fifth inning as Huskies starting pitcher Ben Llewellyn faced a bit of a struggle, dishing out seven balls in a row to walk two Express players.

Two on base, Adam Salazar hit a single to right field, bringing home Sawyer Stein for a 2-0 lead. Quickly followed was Ethan Miller, hitting a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home Jaxon Schumacher for a 3-0 lead.

Duluth responded in the top of the sixth inning, putting their name up on the board for the first time all evening as Wyatt Pennington crossed home plate on a double to left field by Brayden Smith, to shorten the score deficit to 3-1.

Keeping the Huskies quiet for so long was the Express’s array of pitchers, starting with Stanford University pitcher Mike Erspamer, who was on the mound for two innings and dished out 33 pitches. In his time, Erspamer dished out five strikeouts, only allowing one walk and one hit during his time.

Relieving Erspamer was Charleston Southern University pitcher Jackson Niederwerder, who spent three innings on the mound, dishing out four strikeouts, allowing two walks and allowing one run during his time. Following Niederwerder was University of Montevallo pitcher Sam Malone, who spent his first inning on the mound dishing out two strikeouts, before spending a total of two innings on the hill and pitching four strikeouts and walking one batter.

Eau Claire used its defense to fuel its momentum, as the Express secured two more earned runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Schumacher hit a home run near left field off the second pitch delivered. With Schumacher crossing home for a 4-1 lead, Salazar was dished a ball by Llewellyn before sending his own ball out of the park near right field for the third home run of the game and securing a 5-1 lead.

Bringing in Missouri State University pitcher Brock Adamson to close out the game, the four pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts, making the Duluth Huskies finish their night with one run on five hits and one error.

The Express finished game three of the four-game series with five runs off five hits and zero errors. The Trains will look to continue their momentum in Carson Park as they take on the Duskies one last time 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.