Gary SouthShore 11, Lincoln 10 – Box
After trailing 7-2 after six innings, the Gary SouthShore RailCats scored nine runs — three each in the seventh, eighth and ninth — to beat Lincoln, 11-10.
Pinch hitter Wally Backman entered in the top of the ninth and tied the game at 10 on a two-RBI single, and LF Cody Bishop singled home Backman, scoring the go-ahead run. Bishop, the RailCats’ No. 9 hitter, batted 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. He hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to tie the game at seven.
The Saltdogs took a 10-8 lead in the bottom of the eighth on a solo homer from 2B Luis Nunez and RBI singles from SS Mike Gilmartin and 3B Eddie Young, but Bishop ruined the rally in the ninth.
In addition to Bishop, RF Drew Martinez and 2B Zac Mitchell both had three hits for the RailCats.
Right-handed reliever Kagen Hopkins got the win for the RailCats after retiring two batters in the eighth, and Kevin Brahney locked down the save, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.
Sioux Falls 7, Fargo-Moorhead 2 (Game 1 – 7 innings) – Box
A third inning grand slam from Canaries’ C Shelby Ford provided all the scoring Sioux Falls would need to put away Fargo-Moorhead, 7-2, in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader.
Ford’s slam gave the Canaries a 4-1 lead and the Canaries continued to thrive through the long ball, tacking on two insurance runs in the sixth on back-to-back solo homers from 3B Carols Mendez and DH Chris Duffy. Ford also drove in a run in the fifth on an RBI double to right field.
Sioux Falls Starter Joe Bircher picked up his first win in six starts, tossing six innings of two-run ball. Bircher allowed four hits, two walks and struck out three.
St. Paul at Winnipeg (Postponed – Rain)
The resumption of Saturday’s game, which was suspended in the bottom of the third inning with Winnipeg up 1-0, and Sunday’s regularly scheduled game have both been postponed due to rain. The games will be made up when the Saints return to Shaw Park in Winnipeg on July 15-17.
