Eau Claire, Wis – Don’t look now, but the Express are 1.5 games back of first place in the Great Plains East.
Saturday evening’s series opener between Eau Claire and Duluth was set to be the biggest game of the season at Carson Park. It lived up to the billing. Every play mattered as the Express outlasted the Huskies for a 2-1 victory to close the division race by a full game.
Dawson Hargrove (Arkansas State) continued to impress for the Trains as he earned his second win of the season with five scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and two walks while striking out eight. The outing was Hargrove’s third consecutive outing of at least five innings pitched with no runs given up.
While Hargrove kept the Duluth bats quiet, the offense grinded to earn the early lead. McGwire Turner (Montevallo) doubled to begin the second inning and moved to third base on a wild pitch, putting himself into position to start the game’s scoring. Gabe Richardson (Minnesota–Duluth) did his job three batters later, elevating a ball to right field deep enough to bring Turner home on a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 advantage.
Manager Dale Varsho turned to the bullpen for the sixth inning, bringing Kenneth Fistler (Alma) into the game looking to keep the lead. The Canton, Mich., native was excellent, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced to hold the advantage as the offense continued to look for insurance.
Eau Claire finally did just that in the eighth inning with the help of the first error of the game by Huskies’ shortstop Jake Downing. The mistake allowed Dante Vachini (Cal Poly) to reach second base to lead off the frame, and he eventually scored on an RBI single off the bat of Jake Busson (Illinois–Chicago). The run doubled the Express’ lead and turned out to be crucial to the win.
Fistler stayed in the game for the ninth, his fourth inning of work. A leadoff hit-by-pitch gave Duluth hope, but Fistler worked a ground ball for a huge 6-4-3 double play. The Huskies persisted though, with Downing hitting a double off the left-field wall to bring the tying run to the plate. Nate Novitske singled to score him and pull Duluth within one, but another ground ball allowed Turner to step on second base to record the third out, lock down the victory and give Fistler the four-inning save.
Both teams head to Duluth Sunday for a massive matinee matchup at 3:05 p.m. A win would pull Eau Claire within half a game of the division lead.
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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.
