
Express Beat Rochester to Claim First-Half Title
July 3, 2023 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Eau Claire Express News Release
Eau Claire WI - For the first time since 2016, the Eau Claire Express have won the Great Plains East title, in the First Half of the season. This comes after their 12-1 victory over the Rochester Honkers Monday night.
The Express started Isaac Lyon (Grand Canyon University) on the mound, and he took charge, throwing for 7 strong innings, giving up 1 run on just 3 hits. It only took two arms for Eau Claire to get the win tonight, as the only other man out of the bullpen was Michael Trausch (Central Arizona) who came in in the top of the 8th to finish the game, and looked equally impressive, giving up no hits, no runs, and 3 strikeouts.
Offense was the name of the game for the Express tonight as they capitalized early on some Honkers errors to move men around the bases. The first heap of scoring came in the 3rd inning as the Express got leadoff man Kaden Galason (Belmont) on via an error by the Rochester 3rd baseman. He was then driven in by a Ryan Nagelbach (UIC) single. Dylan O'Connell (St. Thomas) was the next batter to drive in runs for the Express, as his double brought 2 more runners home. Finally, Cole Conn (UIC) brought in the 4th run of the inning on a double of his own.
The very next inning, the Express tacked another 5 runs onto the scoreboard via 2 hits and some wild pitching from the Rochester pitcher.
The Honkers' only run of the game came on a 5th-inning solo home run from DH Kyle Fossum. Other than this shot, Rochester could not get anything going offensively throughout the game.
In the 7th and 8th innings, the Express added a combined 3 additional runs for good measure to bring the final score to 12-1. With this win, they now have punched their ticket to a 2023 playoff game, as they own the sole lead of the Great Plains East division.
Eau Claire will look to keep the momentum going into the second half of the season, which starts tomorrow with a game vs. the Thunder Bay Border Cats at Carson Park. First pitch will be at 5:05 pm CT. Be sure to come out to the ballpark for some 4th of July baseball!
Northwoods League Stories from July 3, 2023
- Express Beat Rochester to Claim First-Half Title - Eau Claire Express
- Loggers Look Forward to Second Half of the Season, Beat Hot Tots 5-2 - La Crosse Loggers
- Chinooks Drop Final Game of First Half to Wausau - Lakeshore Chinooks
- Wausau Finishes First Half Strong, Defeats Lakeshore 8-4 - Wausau Woodchucks
- Spitters Clinch Playoffs for Fifth Year in a Row - Traverse City Pit Spitters
- Rockers Clinch Spot in 2023 Northwoods League Playoffs Following Monday's Win Against Mallards - Green Bay Rockers
- Stingers Defeat Border Cats in Extras for Second-Straight Day, Win 3-2 to Close Impressive First Half - Willmar Stingers
- Battle Jacks Lose To Rivets 6-1, Fall To 0-3 Against Brett Sears - Battle Creek Battle Jacks
- Rox Finish First Half with 21 Wins After Game Two in Waterloo - Travel to Duluth for Two-Game Series Tomorrow to Start Second Half - St. Cloud Rox
- Mallards Lose Sixth Straight, Green Bay Earns Chance at Title - Madison Mallards
- Rivets Fall Short to Battle Creek While on the Road - Rockford Rivets
- Wausau Woodchucks to Acquire JBA Clutch Baseball & Softball Organization - Wausau Woodchucks
- Andrew Delaney Named Northwoods Player of the Night on Saturday - Rockford Rivets
- Rockers Eying Playoff Berth, Set for Last First Half Matchup - Green Bay Rockers
- Stingers Bounce Back in Clutch Comeback Effort, Outlast Border Cats 3-2 - Willmar Stingers
- Battle Jacks Trip Up Rivets 4-3, Hit Six Doubles - Battle Creek Battle Jacks
- Loggers Stay Undefeated on Nights with Post-Game Fireworks, Beat Hot Tots 12-3 - La Crosse Loggers
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