Eau Claire, WI – The Eau Claire Express win streak came to a halt at Carson Park, as they were defeated by the Duluth Huskies 13-6 in a Saturday Matinee.
The game began as a pure pitchers duel, as starters Matthew Hoskins (Georgia) and Ethan Cole (Minnesota- Duluth) combined for 11 strikeouts in the first three innings of todays contest. The offenses would break free in the top of fourth frame, as Duluth pushed across five runs behind a Reagan Reeder (Illinois) two-run home run to take an early 5-0 lead. The Express would quickly answer, as with two outs the Trains loaded the bases with walks from Brigs Richartz (St. Thomas) and Dylan O’Connell, followed by a Jake Busson (Iowa Central CC) hit by pitch. Evan Gustafson (North Dakota State) would send a baseball 347 feet over the left-center field fence for a grand slam to bring the Express within one. That would set a single season record for the most grand slams (7) in one year for Eau Claire.
It would all be for not, as Duluth kept their offense rolling throughout the later frames, grabbing another nine runs en route to 13 total scores for their hitters. The Express would grab another pair of runs, as Dylan Knowles (Cal Poly) scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning, and an RBI groundout from Colton Wemhoff (Kansas) in the ninth, but that would be it for Eau Claire, as Duluth would wrap this game up and seal the win.
The Express deployed a plethora of pitchers today, using a total of six arms in todays contest. Matthew Hoskins (Georgia) got the start, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on no hits and tossing seven strikouts. Ethan Cole (Minnesota- Duluth) got the start for Duluth, as he threw 3.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on one hit, and striking out four. Rowen Barnes (UC Davis) grabbed the win (2-0) for the Huskies, while Hoskins took the loss (0-2) for Eau Claire. There was no save situation in this game.
The Express look to bounce back and split the series tomorrow in Duluth. First pitch is set for 3:05pm CT at Wade Stadium on NWL+.
https://scorebook.northwoodsleague.com/update/4497/statistics/stats/home/batting/game
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. Entering its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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 350 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 (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, 2021 and 2023 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and two-time All-MLB first team 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.
