Eau Claire, Wis. –  The Eau Claire Express clinched a 4-3 victory, with Brock Adamson at the mound dishing out two strikeouts to close out the top of the ninth against the Rochester Honkers Thursday night.

The Trains took game one of the two-game series against the Honkers. With a win Friday night over the Honkers, the Express would clinch a playoff spot. The Trains continue to lead the Great Plains East Division with a 21-6 second-half record and a five-game win streak.

Eau Claire secured the first run of the night in the bottom of the second inning due to a struggling Honker pitcher, Aaron Terpstra. Dishing out 34 pitches in the bottom of the second inning, Terpstra pitched a ball to Adam Salazar, leading in a single to second base. Following Salazar in the lineup, AJ Marchetti was walked, followed by Mikey Muniz being walked. With bases loaded, Philip Cheong was walked, bringing home Salazar for the first run of the night.

The earned runs for the Express were doubled in the third inning, as a Landon Ubrig sacrifice fly to right field brought home Cade Palkowski for a 2-0 lead.

Going for another double earned runs, in the bottom of the fifth, the Express finished off their offensive momentum with Muniz crossing home plate off a Palkowski single to center field. Shortly after, Cheong made it home on a Matthew Maulik single to center field for a 4-0 lead.

With offense only as good as their defense, the Express was able to hold off the Honkers from securing any runs until the fifth inning, where they secured three. Noticing the score deficit, the Express kicked it into gear with Jakeb Lequia taking the mound and dishing out two strikeouts, following starting pitcher Mike Erspamer’s 10-strikeout performance.

With neither team putting up another run, the Trains rolled into the ninth inning holding a one-run lead. Bringing Adamson onto the mound, Adamson dished out two strikeouts in a row before pitching a fastball, leading to Ezekiel Mendoza hitting a ball towards left field, where Cheong was waiting for out number three, ending the game.

The Express will take on the Rochester Honkers once again in Carson Park at 6:35 p.m. Friday.

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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.