First place Express deliver with clutch win over Honkers
· Yahoo Sports
It wasn't exactly the start that Eau Claire Express pitcher Quinten Marsh had envisioned.
Marsh delivered the game's first pitch and Rochester's Matt Maize drove the ball out of the ballpark Sunday afternoon at Carson Park.
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But Marsh bounced back from the leadoff homer, striking out 10 batters and benefiting from teammate Jake Busson's three-run homer in a 6-2 win before 909 fans.
First place Eau Claire (12-4) earned back-to-back wins over the Honkers and now lead the Northwoods League's Great Plains East division by 1.5 games.
"Our guys are playing really good baseball right now," Express manager Dale Varsho said. "Our pitching was really good today and we got some big hits when we needed them. We had a lot of guys step up and contribute."
Marsh, a left-hander who pitches collegiately for Stanford, allowed two runs in five strong innings.
"That first pitch homer was really unfortunate," Marsh said. "He guessed right and had a great swing. You got to tip your cap.
"After that, I settled in. I trusted my stuff and trusted my catcher Jaxon Schumacher. He called a great game. Once I loosened up, it was great from there."
Marsh (3-1) walked just two batters and came out after throwing 93 pitches.
"Besides the first pitch in the game, Quinten threw the ball really well," Varsho said. "He threw strikes and he believed in his fastball."
With the game deadlocked 2-2, Busson came to bat with two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Ahead in the count 3-0, Busson saw a pitch he liked and hammered it over the left-center field fence for a three-run blast.
"He threw me a fastball and I was ready to do some damage," Busson said. "It was nice to get that one today. I have been putting in a little bit of extra work. I am looking to get back on track and get back in the swing of things."
Busson, from Hudson, connected on his fifth home run of the season.
"Jake needed that one," Varsho said. "He's been working really hard. He's a talented player and we just need to get him on the right path.
"I was surprised he swung 3-0, but he really did some damage."
Eau Claire added an insurance run in the sixth inning to take a 6-2 lead.
The Express bullpen also excelled. Relievers Sam Malone, Brock Adamson and Zach Peters did not allow a run over the final four innings.
Malone struck out two batters in two innings, Adamson followed with a scoreless inning and Peters punched out two hitters in the ninth to close the game.
"Our bullpen was really good," Varsho said. "Sam, Brock and Zach did a great job."
There are still three weeks left in the season, but Eau Claire is rolling right now.
"We are having a lot of fun playing baseball right now," Busson said. "That's what summer ball should be all about."
Moving past Rochester and into first place over the weekend was big for the Express.
"It was huge to win a couple games against them," Marsh said. "They are a great ballclub and they have a great offense. To be able to limit their scoring was great. And our offense was unbelievable."