On a cool Tuesday evening in Watkins the Express were surprised by a young, scrappy St. Augusta ball club. The Gussies outplayed the Express and handed them their first CVL loss of the season, 9-5. The Express jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but could not keep the momentum going. Express starter Kris Hagen (3-1) faced only 10 batters in the first three innings. The Gussies made it 3-1 after the fourth inning with two walks. The fifth inning derailed the Express as the Gussies strung together five hits coupled with two Express errors to give them a 7-3 lead. Gussies starting pitcher Tom Fuchs held the Express in check and helped himself out at the plate going 2-3. A double and a two-run homerun in the seventh inning put the game out of reach. Former Kimball Cub Rollie Lemke was 3-4 with a triple for the Gussies. For the Express, Scott Marquardt was 3-4 with a triple. Nate Turck was also 3-4 with two stolen bases to lead the Express offense. Kimball left 13 runners on base. Relief pitcher, Keith Kremer, came in and got the Gussies out of the jam, striking out three Express batters to end the threat. The Express face the Gussies again at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 22, in St. Augusta. Monticello The Express won a non-league contest against the Monticello Polecats 4-3, Friday, June 13. The Express broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning to take the lead and the game. Turck hit into a fielders choice to score Brian Marquardt from third. Mike Arnold led the Express offense 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base. Brian Marquardt scored two of the four Express runs. Scott Marquardt added a double in the seventh inning. Brooks Marquardt started for the Express on the mound and picked up his fourth win of the season. He allowed only four hits and three runs; two earned. He struck out two and walked two in seven innings before he was relieved by Joe Krippner. Krippner pitched flawlessly in the final two innings. Pearl Lake Sunday’s game took place in Marty against the Pearl Lake Lakers. Pat Arnold went eight innings to pick up the win. Brian Marquardt was 2-4 with a double and an RBI to lead the Express offense. The Express struggled at the plate and scored three runs. As a team, they set a new record with 10 stolen bases in a game. Kimball scored lone runs in the first three innings to take an early 3-0 lead. Pat Arnold (5-0) kept the Laker hitters in check most of the afternoon, and allowed only one run on three hits. Arnold walked only one batter, compared to the seven walks in Luxemburg. Jeremy Kuechle came on in the ninth to pick up his fourth save of the year. News and notes The Express will unofficially open the refurbished ball park Sunday, June 29, when they host their CVL rival, the Watkins Clippers. Just a small portion of the fence is yet to be erected as chain link will be installed in the right field corner. The grass is coming along nicely. Thirty advertisements of local businesses will complete the outfield wall. The Express record now stands at 16-2 overall and 10-1 in league play.
