Jun. 4—The Eau Claire Express were on the wrong end of a lopsided score for a second straight night against the Willmar Stingers. And thus, the team is still looking for its first win four games in.
The host Stingers scored eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings combined, three in the fourth and five in the fifth, en route to a 9-0 win on Thursday.
Willmar’s Tanner Tweedt hit a leadoff home run to start the fourth inning, his second in as many games. That was followed by a single, a hit batter and a sacrifice bunt, allowing Jack Hanson and Brady Hill to each bring home a run each on a putout and single, respectively.
The Stingers’ first six batters got on in the fifth, with Daniel Sayre kicking off the scoring with an RBI single. Tweedt, Reid Homan and Jakob Newton piled on, each bringing home at least one run with three straight doubles. Brett Bateman added one more insurance run with a single in the eighth.
Henry George was Eau Claire’s lone batter with multiple hits, going 2 for 4 with a double. The Express went down 1-2-3 in five innings and were outscored 18-1 in this quick two-game series.
Nick Malmberg took the loss, allowing six earned runs on a night where he was pulled during the fifth inning onslaught. Nick Herold came on in relief and allowed two more to score, but settled down with a scoreless frame in the sixth.
The Express return home for a two-game series, playing the Mankato MoonDogs at 7:05 p.m. Friday and 6:35 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday the group starts a home-and-home with the Duluth Huskies with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch in Duluth.
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Willmar Stingers 9, Eau Claire Express 0
EC 000 000 000 — 0 6 0
Willmar 000 350 01x — 9 14 1
WP: Jack Zigan (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K). LP: Nick Malmberg (4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 3 K). Leading hitters: Eau Claire: Henry George 2-4 (2B). Willmar: Tanner Tweedt 2-4 (HR, 3 RBI, 2R), Reid Homan 3-4 (2R, RBI), Brady Hill 2-3 (RBI, R).