THUNDER BAY – The Eau Claire Express did all the damage they needed to do in the first three innings on Tuesday night.
And they didn’t need much with Nate Davis on the mound.
The host Express scored twice in the first and once more in the second to chase Thunder Bay Border Cats starter D.J. DePiero from the mound, added two more runs in the third and cruised to a 5-0 win that snapped their opponent’s modest two-game win streak.
Davis was all but un-hittable, allowing just four hits and four walks in eight shutout innings to even his record at 1-1.
DePiero, on the other hand, couldn’t find his control, hitting the first batter he faced and then walking the next four, Phillip Sikes and Brandon Dieter drawing bases-loaded free passes to stake Eau Claire to an early 2-0 lead.
Spencer Myers singled in a run in the second and Sikes scored the first of two Express runs in the third, scoring on Vincent Martinez’s RBI double.
Dieter, who walked after Sikes doubled to greet Thunder Bay reliever Peyton Burks to start the third, crossed the plate on Connor Laspina’s sacrifice fly.
Joey Hecht and Brendan Cindric shut the Express down the rest of the way, but the Border Cats couldn’t solve Davis, who set Thunder Bay down in order in the second, third and fourth innings, retiring 11 straight at one point and finished with a 1-2-3 eighth before hitting the showers.
The Cats had runners in scoring position in the sixth, but Davis held strong, and the seventh, when Ryne Edmondson singled and Jordan Larson walked.
But Thomas Grilli flew out to left and Nate Soriano grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame. The two teams tangle again on Wednesday night, the Border Cats (8-15 )returning home on Thursday to face the Mankato MoonDogs (11-12).
Eau Claire (11-12), kept pace with front-running Waterloo (12-11).
