Express bounce back, pull away from Mud Puppies
Jun. 10—After dropping two straight games, Trey Felker helped the Eau Claire Express get back on track.
Felker pitched six strong innings and the offense scored in bunches in a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Mud Puppies on Thursday at Carson Park. Felker struck out six and held Minnesota to two runs on four hits in a quality start.
The Express took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back RBIs from Peter Brookshaw and Cole Conn in the third. Brookshaw singled and Conn doubled to bring in a run each.
Eau Claire didn't need to swing much to add insurance in the fourth. A run scored on a wild pitch, Conn drew a bases-loaded walk and Sam Kuchinski took a pitch off the arm to bring home another run and make it 5-0 in favor of the Express.
Menomonie native Brigs Richartz tacked on Eau Claire's final run with an RBI single in the eighth. The Mud Puppies got a run back in the ninth, but couldn't claw any closer.
Kevin Tuttle had two hits for Eau Claire. Conn drove in two runs and drew three walks.
The Express (7-3) remain in first place in the Great Plains East Division. They entered Thursday tied with Duluth atop the standings.
Eau Claire heads to Mankato on Friday to open up a four-game set against the MoonDogs. The first two games of the series are in Mankato before the teams head to Carson Park to wrap it up on Sunday and Monday. Ben Shepard is expected to pitch Friday for Eau Claire. He had a standout first start of the season against Waterloo on June 3, working six innings of one-run baseball. He'll go for his second win of the season.
