June 25 Afternoon
Fargo-Moorhead 11, Newark 4
Tim Alberts (pictured) and Buddy Sosnoskie turned in monster games for the RedHawks. Both Fargo-Moorhead hitters finished with three hits and three RBI in an 11-4 victory over the Newark Bears. Alberts provided the RedHawks with significant power from the six spot in the order. The right fielder doubled and hit a pair of solo home runs. Sosnoskie hit an RBI double in the third and added two RBI singles later.
Rookie starter Brian Ernst also had a strong game for Fargo-Moorhead. In his third start of the season, the East Stroudsburg University product held the Bears to three runs over seven innings. Ernst won his second straight start and is now 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA.
Gary SouthShore 4, Kansas City 3
A wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth won a tight ballgame for Gary SouthShore. The RailCats defeated Kansas City, 4-3, when Drew Martinez bolted home on an errant pitch with Adam Klein at the plate. Martinez had doubled to lead off the inning and Daniel Pulfer moved him up to third with a sacrifice bunt. The successful sacrifice put Martinez in position to score the game-winning run.
Gary SouthShore only needed ninth-inning drama because the T-Bones had tied the game in the eighth. Down 3-2, Kansas City started a rally with a Justin C. Bass double. Ethan Cole, usually a pitcher, pinch ran for Bass and advanced to third on a heads-up baserunning play, as he tagged up from second on a fly ball to left field. Two batters later, Matt Padgett hit a fly ball that sent SS Christian Vitters running down the left field line to make the catch. Cole tagged from third on the play to score the game-tying run.
RailCats reliever Clay Zavada held the T-Bones in check after Padgett tied the score. Zavada pitched a near-perfect top of the ninth. The left-hander struck out two, walked one and induced a pop-up to bring the RailCats up with a chance to win the game. Zavada’s scoreless ninth-inning performance earned him his fifth win of the season.
