Eau Claire, Wis. – The Trains roll back to Carson Park following a day off, to secure a 4-1 victory over the Thunder Bay Border Cats Saturday night.

Eau Claire Express Postgame Recap:

With their third game back at home and coming off their first day off all season long, the Express found their offensive momentum, silencing Thunder Bay to one run the full nine innings.

The Border Cats started the game earning the first run of the night, with a wild pitch towards Alex Kean at bat, granting Logan Gohr the opportunity to steal home.

However, that was the only run of the night for Thunder Bay, with Hunter Guenther at the mound only allowing four hits, one run and two walks during his full eight innings of play, ending the night with 111 pitches and 11 strikeouts.

Battling back from the Border Cats’ one-run lead, the Trains found their groove with Sawyer Stein out to bat, collecting an RBI, bringing home CJ Varsho. Quickly after, with a Matthew Maulik single to left field, Busson ran from second to home plate, securing the 2-1 lead at the bottom of the first inning.

Never backing down, the Express secured another run in the bottom of the second inning following a Busson single near left field, bringing home JP Pennella for a 3-1 lead.

Going two innings without either team earning a run, the Express earned their final run of the game with a Maulik home run near right field, bringing the final score to 4-1 and tallying his second home run of the season.

With Guenther finishing his time on the mound in the eighth inning, the Trains relied on left-handed pitcher Jaden Kogutkiewicz to prevent the Border Cats from making a comeback victory. Kogutkiewicz secured two strikeouts on the plate when only facing three batters in the final innings.

The Trains finished their night with 11 hits and zero errors, with Varsho leading from the plate, going 3-for-5, whereas Stein led from the defensive end, securing six putouts throughout the night.

Eau Claire will face Thunder Bay once more at 2:05 p.m. Sunday in Carson Park.

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The Eau Claire Express is 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. Having completed its 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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 250 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 (WAS), 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 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or Google Play and set the Booyah as your favorite team.