The setup was solid.

The approach was even better.

The descent was steady and swift.

The landing was a crash.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Eau Claire Express.

The Express returned to the Northwoods League postseason for the second time in franchise history this summer. The difference? This time, the Express team that showed up for the playoffs in mid-August didn't feel at all like the one that got there in June.

In a lot of ways, it wasn't.

After winning seven out of every 10 games in a promising first half, the Express slammed back to Earth thanks to all the issues that come with summer collegiate baseball leagues. Injuries, summer school and the major leagues picked apart one of the league's best and left behind a 36-34 team that slid into a funk and faded into the fall after being swept by La Crosse in the South Division finals.

"I think we could have done better if we would have kept everybody," fifth-year Express manager Dale Varsho said. "That's without a doubt.

"But that's the trade of a 68-game season. It's a long haul. It's a grind."

In all, 37 players put on an Express uniform in 2009 - one short of the franchise record set in '08 - after a fairly stable start. When the Express were eliminated from the South Division finals one week ago today, only 16 players remained from Varsho's original 30-man roster.

"If you look at, overall, people that have run through the system in '09, I think there's a heck of a lot of talent - a lot of talent that didn't stay, but a ton of talent that came through the system," Varsho said.

Following a 21-9 first half that - with the help of a handful of postponed games - landed them in postseason for the first time since their championship series run in 2007, the Express fought a losing battle against attrition in the second half. By the time they were eliminated last week, the Express were operating with just one position player on their bench.

"It's a grind," Varsho said. "It's a tough, long season. If you don't have a whole lot of bench later in the year - like we haven't - it is a huge grind. They don't get a whole lot of days off.

"And thank God we won the first half where we could still rest them and not be full strength. But it's been tough down the road."

Although the ending was a bit sour, the '09 Express showed flashes of brilliance during a weak second half. There was Tyler Bremer's no-hitter - the first in franchise history - and Kole Calhoun's walk-off home run in the 13th inning on back-to-back days in mid-July. There was the midseason and postseason All-Star selections for Nolan Fadness, the leadoff hitter from Eau Claire Memorial who kept the Express on course throughout.

And there was the South finals, where the beaten-down Express pulled together for two rather complete, spirited games against a hot La Crosse team that handled them all summer. Both efforts ended in losses, but both served as reminders of what could have been.

Clearly, Varsho and his staff had the pieces in place. Now it's just a matter of keeping them there.

"Hopefully, we can build on that," Varsho said. "Hopefully, we can get more people to stay around all summer and keep our depth and work for a playoff run next year."