Eau Claire, Wis. –  Eau Claire was able to lock in when needed to secure a tight 6-5 victory over the Waterloo Bucks Friday night.

Marking their final series of the regular season, the Express secured the first win of a two-game series against the Waterloo Bucks, bringing their second-half record to 27-8, leading the Great Plains East Division.

Eau Claire got its name on the board first, as Cade Palkowski started the first inning by being walked, quickly followed by CJ Varsho hitting a double to left field to bring home Palkowski for a 1-0 early lead.

The Bucks quickly answered with a run of their own at the start of the third inning. Caleb Parker walked and advanced to second and third base due to an overthrow by Express starting pitcher Imarion Stanberry. He then crossed home plate on Jake Slade’s groundout, tying the game.

Playing with low energy, the Express didn’t find their offensive momentum until the bottom of the fourth inning as Mikey Muniz hit a two-run double. Quickly followed by a Palkowski single bringing home Landon Ubrig and Muniz for a 5-1 lead.

Shortening their score deficit, Waterloo had a field day at the top of the sixth inning, with four batters hitting a single into center field. Bubby Dosztan-Campbell was the first Waterloo Buck to make it home following a Tayvon Homolar single to center field. Caleb Seiber joined in the fun, hitting his own single to center, bringing home Anthony Massa for a 5-3 score.

Warren Bowe substituted Tyler Bartley on the mound for the Express, and on his first pitch of the inning, threw a wild pitch, bringing home John Wubben for a 5-4 score to end the top of the sixth. Bartley finished his time on the mound, contributing two strikeouts. Stanberry, the starting pitcher, was retired for the night by Bartley with two strikeouts in his four innings on the mound.

The Trains responded by strengthening their lead, adding one more earned run to their total, after a triple to center field, followed by Muniz hitting a sacrifice fly to bring home Ubrig for a 6-4 lead.

Going a silent but anxious two innings, the Bucks secured one more run in the top of the ninth inning following a Parker single to left field, bringing home Larry Edwards. Despite the last-minute earned run, the Express was able to pull together some strong defense for a fielder’s choice out, followed by a fly out towards right field to finish the night with a 6-5 victory.

The Express finished the game with six runs on five hits and two errors, with Muniz paving the way offensively with two RBIs, going 3-for-1 at bat and securing one run.

Eau Claire will finish its regular season at 6:35 p.m. Saturday against the Waterloo Bucks, before heading to the playoffs on 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.