La Crosse, WI – The Express found themselves on the wrong side of a falling tree yesterday, losing to the Loggers in both matchups of a 2-game doubleheader.
Game 1: The Express got off to a shaky start in the early game after a long 3-run 1st inning from the Loggers. Although striking out 2, Tyler Schmitt (UW-La Crosse) gave up 3 earned runs early, to give La Crosse the lead. He was forced to exit after this inning though, as he reached the pitch count maximum. This started the pitching carousel that was made up of 5 different Eau Claire arms.
Through 5 innings, Eau Claire was up 7-4. This was thanks in part to a season-record-tying 3 team homers. These came off the bats of Tanner Sagouspe (Cal Poly), Bronson Rivera (Hawaii), and Camden Ross (WKU).
This lead looked steady, but the Loggers started sawing away at it in the bottom of the 6th inning, scoring 3 of their own and tying the game. The following inning saw La Crosse add another 6 runs, which proved to be too much for the Express to handle. This halted the scoring at 7-13 in favor of the Loggers.
Game 2: In the second game of the day, the Express were looking for a bounce-back victory. Unfortunately for the Trains, that victory was not in the cards as they dropped this game in spectacular fashion, losing 4-18.
For the second time in just 3 days, Eau Claire gave up 9 runs in an inning. This time the dreaded 9 came midway through the game, in the bottom of the 5th. It all started when the leadoff man for La Crosse reached on an E5. From there, the wheels fell off, as the Loggers poured on 5 unearned and 4 earned runs.
Kale Hopke (NDSU) and Cameron Bagshaw (Minot State) threw 30 pitches apiece in this marathon of an inning en route to a deficit that was too large to overcome.
Eau Claire brought in 2 runs in the top of the 8th inning to inch closer to the Loggers. However, the little hope that was sparked here was quickly squashed by a 6-run performance in the bottom of that same inning by the home team.
After the early-week Bucks beatdown, and the recent La Crosse losses the Express have fallen to 4-6 in the second half of the season.
They will look to get back on track this Thursday in a matchup with the Bismarck Larks. The game will be held at Carson Park, and will begin at 6:35 pm CT. Come out to the ballpark to see this matchup between Great Plains East and West rivals!
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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. Now in its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world 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, over 325 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 (NYM), 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 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. 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.
