Waterloo, IA – The Eau Claire Express surmounted a huge comeback to defeat the Waterloo Bucks. After falling behind early in the game, the Express rallied back and won 10-9.
Lakeland University Postgame Recap:
Brandon Dieter (Stanford) got things started with a bang, blasting a solo home run in the top of the 1st inning. It was his first of the season. The Bucks would follow by scoring two runs in the 1st and four runs off a grand slam in the 2nd inning.
Eau Claire got two runs back in the top of the 3rd inning. Spencer Myers (Notre Dame) and Dieter walked. Troy Beilsmith (Evansville) singled to center field to score Myers. Sam Kohnle (Winona State) followed with an RBI single of his own, driving in Dieter. The score was then 6-3 in favor of the Bucks.
The Express continued to fight back in the 4th inning. Connor Laspina (Flagler College) was hit by a pitch and advanced to 2nd base when Myers walked. Dieter once again came up with a big hit, lacing an RBI single to center and scoring Laspina. The Bucks also added a run in the bottom of the 4th.
One more would come in the 5th inning. David LaManna (Notre Dame) started things with a double and was moved to 2nd base by Nick Lopez (Illinois-Chicago). LaManna came in to score on a wild pitch. In the bottom half of the inning, Waterloo scored twice to bring their lead to 9-5.
Not done yet, the Express had a huge 8th inning, taking a 10-9 lead after batting around. The bases quickly loaded after Lopez was hit by a pitch, Cole Cabrera (Cal Poly) walked, and Laspina singled. Myers singled to drive in Lopez and move everyone else up a base. Cabrera scored on a fielder’s choice and Brock Burton (Grand Canyon) reached 1st on the play. Having a fantastic night, going 3-4 with 3 RBI, Dieter singled to center and Laspina ran in. Beilsmith came next with an RBI hit by pitch that drove in Myers. The final run of the inning came when Burton scored on a fielder’s choice. This 10-9 score held as the final.
Colt Mink (Flagler) started for the Express but could go just 1.2 innings. He gave up 6 runs on 6 hits and three walks. Jack Brown (Minnesota-State) entered for 3.1 innings of relief. He allowed 3 runs off 5 hits while striking out two. Kuster Kinlecheenie (Montevallo) had a strong 2.0 inning outing and did not allow a hit. Brennan Jordan (Cowley CC) closed the door on the Bucks and earned the save. Jordan also tossed 2.0 scoreless innings.
The Express continue in Waterloo for 3 more games. A fter a league-wide off day on Monday, June 24th, Eau Claire will return to Carson Park on Tuesday, June 25th to face the Mankato MoonDogs. It’s Back to Baseball Night with a 6:35 pm first pitch. Sports Talk 105.1 will team up with the Express to bring the night ‘Back to Baseball’ with the sights and sounds of the game we all grew up to love.
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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 25-year old summer collegiate 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 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). 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 on Google Play and set the Express as your favorite team.
