ST. LOUIS EXPRESS MEN'S BASEBALL CLUB

The Express won their second Missouri Show Me State Games Gold in 2024, capping off a 5-0 Tournament.  They defeated the North Missouri Natty's in the Final, avenging a loss from the previous year. 

Despite suffering injuries in the Friday opener to both scheduled Sunday starters, the Express persevered.  They won their pool, defeating the Gateway Golden Knights 19-5, Phaces 6-4 and Thompson 8-2.  Eddie Sutton started the Semi-Final on the mound in an emergency outing, before leaving with an elbow injury in the 4th.  Kurby Vowels came in to finish the 5-2 win on zero days rest, after recording a save and a win the day before.  Malcom Newell started the Championship after throwing 6 innings the day before, and threw a complete game gem to claim the Gold.  

Kurby Vowels and Malcolm Newell combined to throw 24 2/4 innings in those 2 days, going 3-0 with 2 Saves, 23K's and a 1.42 ERA. 

 The Express finished the 2014 season in style by winning the 18+ West League Championship.  They defeated the White Sox 16-4 and 6-3 to clinch the Postseason title.  After winning the regular season title and collecting a third place medal at the Show Me State Games, the Express topped off their best season ever with a 23-6-1 record.

The Express kicked off their title defense with a season opening win over Budweiser 3-2.  The Express fought back from a 2-0 first inning hole by plating 2 in the third.  After that, the teams exchanged zeroes until the 7th.  Budweiser loaded the bases with 2 outs in the top of the seventh before Josh Street shut the door with an inning ending strikeout.  Street then lead off the bottom of the 7th with a single.  After a groundout advanced Street to 2nd, Jimmy Keiner came to the plate.  He proceeded to rip the first pitch right past the 3rd base bag to bring home Street with the winning run. 

The Express pitching staff picked right up where they left off last year by limiting Budweiser to 2 runs on just 4 hits. Mitch Hatfield made the Opening Day start by pitching the first 3 innings, followed by a dominant 3 inning stint by Matt Mitchell.  Street finished up the night by picking up the win in relief. 

The Express return to action with a game on Saturday April 11th and 2 more the next day. 

After 15 consecutive trips to the Missouri Show Me State Games, the St. Louis Express finally came away with their first tournament Championship.  After knocking off the rival Gateway Indians 8-2 in the Finals, the Express captured their first Show Me State Games Gold Medal.  That Gold helped the Express complete the set after winning Silver in 2015 and Bronze twice before.

The Express were led by a dominant pitching staff, highlighted by Devin Pettit's 12K complete game in the Championship Game.  And the offense provided a balanced attack from top to bottom.  Jimmy Keiner led the team with 2 HR and 8 RBI in the tournament.  His 1st inning Grand Slam in the Semi-Finals provided the initial spark of Championship Sunday.

This Championship win goes out to all the Express Alumni who competed over the years!

After facing off in the Show Me State Games Championship Game in 2018, the St. Louis Express and Gateway Indians joined forces for the 2019 tournament.  The team breezed through pool play before advancing to the Semi-Finals.  Heavy rain on Sunday morning forced a field change, but the team advanced to the finals again behind a team record 14K performance by Shawn Spainhoward.  

Unfortunately, the magic ended there as the St. Louis club fell 8-3 to the William Woods Owls in the Finals.  The Owls avenged a 2017 pool play loss to the Express by winning their first Show Me State Games gold.  The Express/Indians fell behind early, and despite HR's by Matt Jayne and Josh Street, couldn't overcome the deficit.  

With both the Express and Indians falling short of their 2nd gold, and each collecting a 2nd Silver in the process, the stage will be set for both clubs to find a way to complete the task in 2020.

After numerous battles over the years, the Express and Golden Knights finally met in the 18+ League Championship Series.  Despite flooding and fires, the games did not disappoint.  After the Golden Knights took Game 1 in a back and forth affair 11-10, the Express bounced back to win Game 2 8-5.  As the temperatures dipped and the injuries piled up for both squads, a wild finish ensued.  The Express took an 11-4 lead to the bottom of the 7th, but the Golden Knights mounted an improbable comback to tie the game and send it to extras.  After trading zeros in the 8th, the Express pushed accross 2 runs on a sacrifce bunt by Julian Bridges.  As the ball rolled away, Khalil Joiner raced around from first to score the 13th run.  That effort proved huge as the Golden Knights scored a run of their own in the bottom of the ninth.  With the tying and winning runs on base, Chris Audrain closed out the game by getting the final out on the mound to seal the Championship!

It was the definition of a total team effort for the Express.  Everyone played their part in the Championship run, and all stepped up big in the moment.  Eight years after their last STLMBL Championship, this victory was all too sweet.  

And special thanks to the Golden Knights for putting up such a massive fight.  We look forward to defending our title next year after a much needed offseason!