Eau Claire, Wis. –  Following a clinch playoff berth, the Eau Claire Express falls 16-4 to the Madison Mallards in the first of a two-game series Saturday night

Despite the loss, the Express continues to strive on for their time in the playoffs, their first appearance since 2023, in hopes of winning since 2010.

The Mallards secured the first run of the night in the top of the first inning, but the Express quickly responded with their own run to tie up the game 1-1 with an Anthony Martinez home run to left field, his seventh of the season, tying the team leads.

Madison responded with two more runs of its own in the top of the third inning, followed by two more in the fourth. Keeping it a close deficit, the Trains secured two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth with a Sawyer Stein two-run home run near right field.

With a 5-3 lead, the Mallards completely pulled away, securing eight runs in the fifth inning, followed by three more in the top of the eighth to finish their night with 16 runs on 17 hits and two errors.

The Express were able to secure one more run in the bottom of the ninth with Martinez’s second home run of the night to right field, but Eau Claire ultimately ended the night with four runs off of six hits and one error.

Starting Express pitcher Quinten Marsh leaves Carson Park with the loss, but finishes the night dishing out three strikeouts in his four innings on the mound.

Leading the offense was Martinez, who went 4-for-2, securing two home runs and two RBIs, alongside Stein, who had two RBI’s of his own.

Despite the loss, Eau Claire is still looking on the bright side as the team heads over to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Mallards once again for their two-game series at 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

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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.