Eau Claire, Wis. – Trailing by five in the seventh inning with only two hits on the night, the Express were staring down a series sweep to the Bucks. Then the comeback started. It was slow at first and then all at once as Eau Claire rallied to win 6-5.
Waterloo notched a run in the top of the seventh to extend its lead to 5-0 in a game it had controlled all night. The Express responded though, with JJ Moran (Stanford) singling to start the inning and eventually coming around to score on a double play for Eau Claire’s first run of the series. Joey Koch (Century CC) pitched a clean eighth to turn the game back to the Express lineup — he would eventually earn the win — which was all the hosts needed.
With one runner on and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Eau Claire went to work. Two walks loaded the bases for Dante Vachini (Cal Poly), who blooped a single to center to score a pair of runs and pull his team within two. McGwire Turner (Montevallo) followed him up with an RBI single to force the second pitching change of the inning as the deficit was cut to 5-4. Two batters later, Matthew Connolly (Catawba College) notched his first hit as a member of the Express, and it was a big one; the single to left scored both Vachini and Turner to finally put Eau Claire ahead 6-5.
Austin Steeves (Stanford) entered to pitch the ninth and worked two quick outs. A full-count walk momentarily delayed the celebration but Steeves struck out Owen Ross to end the game and pick up the save.
Neither side scored through the first three innings as both starting pitchers worked effectively. Austin Mattingly (Missouri Southern State) ran into trouble first as Jimmy Nugent homered to left field to start the fourth inning. The Bucks added another run in the frame on a throwing error to take a 2-0 lead.
Otto Franz (Concordia University (TX)) relieved Mattingly in the fifth and got an out to end the inning but struggled in the sixth. Waterloo hit three straight singles to start the inning to score one and a second run came home on a sacrifice fly later in the frame to take a 4-0 lead.
Zach Diver (Doane) surrendered the fifth Bucks run of the game in the seventh but limited the damage there, finishing with two innings pitched and one earned run.
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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. Entering its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history 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, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 380 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 (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford 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, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network. Learn more and find complete streaming schedules at watchnwl.com. 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.
