Northwoods League: Eau Claire holds off Willmar's comeback
Jun. 29—EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — After one slip-up in the top of the eighth, Derek True wasn't going to let the Willmar Stingers get another come-from-behind victory.
True got the next five Willmar batters out, getting the save for the Eau Claire Express in a 3-2 Northwoods League victory in front of 848 fans at Carson Park.
True, a sophomore from Cal Poly, struck out two over two innings. Illinois-Chicago junior Tyler Ingram picked up the win for Eau Claire. He held Willmar to two hits and a walk, striking out five over seven innings.
Ingram and True combined to hold the Stingers to four hits.
Two of those hits came in the top of the eighth. Brett Bateman hit a single to left. Bateman, a sophomore from Minnesota by way of Arden Hills, was 2-for-3 on Tuesday.
Joey Walls followed up with his fourth home run of the season, hitting a two-run shot to left field. A junior from Nevada-Las Vegas, Walls is hitting .320 with 18 RBIs and 18 runs this summer.
The Express built a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer by Sam Kuchinski. Eau Claire added another run in the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Joe Yorke.
Willmar's Ryan Jares was hit with the loss despite striking out eight over six innings of work. Jares is a junior from Augustana University.
The Express remain atop the Great Plains East Division at 17-11. Willmar is second in the Great Plains West Division at 16-12.
The teams play again at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday in Willmar at Bill Taunton Stadium.
Willmar 000 000 020-2 4 0Eau Claire 020 001 000-3 6 1
Hitting — Willmar: Brett Bateman 2-3 r bb sb, Joey Walls 1-3 hr r rbi-2 hbp, Nick Terrell 1-3 ... Eau Claire: Cadyn Schwabe 1-4 r, Charlie Szykowny 2-4, Joe Yorke 1-3 rbi, Cole Conn 1-3 2b r, Sam Kuchinski 1-3 hr r rbi-2
Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) — Willmar: Ryan Jares (L, 2-1) 6-6-3-3-2-8, Logan Samuels 2-0-0-0-1-2 ... Eau Claire: Tyler Ingram (W, 2-0) 7-2-0-0-1-5, Derek True (Sv, 1) 2-2-2-2-0-2
