Luxemburg The Express got back on track this past weekend, as they downed the Luxemburg Brewers, 8-3, in Central Valley League (CVL) action. Justin Hill (1-0) went seven complete innings throwing shutout baseball with three SOs in his first action of the season to pick up the win. Mike Arnold, Jeremy Kuechle and Aaron Knaus all had good days at the plate to key the Express offense. Kimball jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Mike Arnold smoked an RBI single and Aaron Knaus drove in a pair to jump start an offense that had only five hits against Pearl Lake the week before. Arnold blasted a lead-off homerun (HR) in the third inning to give the Express a 4-0 lead. It was his first HR of the season. Arnold finished the day 3-4 with a HR, two runs scored and two RBIs. Jeremy Kuechle was 2-3 with two doubles and drove in two runs. He also had a sac-fly and a base on balls. Aaron Knaus went 2-5, driving in three runs to give him five RBIs for the season. The Express added a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth. Joe Pennertz ended the scoring in the seventh lacing a double off the left centerfield wall. Knaus brought him around to score with a hard hit single, making the score 8-0. The Brewers earned all three runs in the top of the eighth inning, as they put together a mini rally against reliever Joe Krippner. Jeremy Kuechle came on in the top of the ninth and sent the Brewers down in order to end the game. Two Express newcomers had an impact on the day’s action. Third baseman Aaron Jacobs went 2-3 with a double and a run scored. This is Jacobs first year of amateur ball and he has started all five games for the Express. Paul Hughes, in his first game with the Express, drew a pinch-hit walk in his first ever amateur baseball plate appearance. “Hughsey” is a junior on the Kimball Area High School team with a huge upside, we look for good things to come in the future from Paul. St. Nicholas The 18th annual Mother’s Day dinner put on by the Express pushed the CVL contest between the Nicks and the Express back to 3 p.m. The St Nicholas game was barely considered official because rain, hail, lightning and high winds cut the game short. However, the Express won 1-0, in five innings. Jeremy Kuechle continued his hot hitting in the fourth inning as he tripled to the right field corner, plating a run. Scott Marquardt followed that up with a n RBI single, giving the Express the lead and the win. The game did go into the sixth inning and the Express plated three more runs before the game was called at the half-inning. In this scenario the game goes back to the last complete inning, which was the fifth. The final score stands at 1-0. A game must go five complete innings to be considered official. Kris Hagen (1-0) toed the rubber and gets the victory for the Express as he notches his first win of the season. Hagen worked all five innings and struck out three. This was Hagen’s third start of the season. He has been the victim of two no decisions prior to the Mother’s Day start against the Nicks. Rail report The two wins improve the Express CVL record and overall record to 3-2, ending their two game skid. The two game losing streak was the first time the Express has lost back-to-back games since 2002. The Express travel to Luxemburg for action against the Brewers at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 16. The team began the exhibition schedule Wednesday, May 12, in Hutchinson.
