Three members of the Express were named Northwoods League Postseason All-Stars Saturday morning. Starting pitchers Walker Retz and Dawson Hargrove earned the honors along with shortstop JJ Moran. Retz was also on the mid-season team, while Hargrove and Moran rode strong second halves to make the postseason squad.

Retz (St. Thomas) has been the ace of the Eau Claire pitching staff all season, making his first start in the second game of the season and scheduled to start in the team’s season finale Saturday night.

Heading into his final outing, Retz has racked up 10 starts and 57.1 innings pitched, both team-highs. If he pitches more than four innings in the season finale, he is likely to finish atop the league in innings pitched. The Boyceville, Wis., native enters Saturday’s start with a 4.26 ERA and 49 strikeouts, just three behind Cohen Gomez for the team lead. Retz earned Northwoods League Pitcher of the Night for a seven-inning, one-hit performance June 20 in Mankato and also pitched two clean outs including a strikeout in July’s Northwoods League All-Star Game.

Hargrove (Arkansas State) surged late in the season, making only seven appearances and just three starts since arriving in Eau Claire for the second half but pitching exceptionally to earn postseason honors. In his 25.1 innings of work, Hargrove gave up just three earned runs for an incredible 1.07 ERA and a WHIP of 0.91, both team-bests. He also led the Express in strikeouts per nine innings at 13.5.

Hailing from Spring Hill, Tenn., Hargrove closed the season with a trio of scoreless starts, pitching 5+ innings in all three outings and allowing just two hits each time while racking up 25 strikeouts over that stretch.

Moran (Stanford) arrived in Eau Claire in mid-June and lit it up at the plate all season, riding an incredible offensive month of July to postseason honors. His final numbers are remarkable as he is slashing .275/.406/.489 entering his 50th and final game Saturday night. He leads the Express with 10 home runs, tied for fourth-most in a season in franchise history, and his .489 slugging percentage is the 10th-best power season ever in Eau Claire. 38 runs batted in on the year slots him at 14th in Express history.

The Carlsbad, Calif., native put together an incredible July to charge his way to the top of the team and league leaderboards. His nine homers in the month were tied for the most in the entire league, and he led the Great Plains divisions and ranked second in the league with 33 RBIs in the month.

The entire Northwoods League Postseason All-Star Team can be found here. 

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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.