St. Paul 9, Fargo-Moorhead 2 – Box
With two hits and two RBI’s from 1B Ian Gac, the St. Paul Saints zoomed past Fargo-Moorhead 9 to 2 Friday night at CHS Field (pictured). The Saints struck first in the matchup after a two-RBI double by Gac in the bottom of the third inning. The Redhawks countered with a RBI-single from C Joe Staley in the top of the fourth. However, St. Paul pushed the lead to 3-1 after an RBI-single from SS Anthony Phillips in the bottom of the fourth.
In the fifth inning, the Saints added two more runs after a two-RBI single by DH Angelo Songco. In the sixth inning, the score enlarged to 7-1 after a two-RBI single by LF Willie Argo and then 9-1 after Songco hit yet another two-RBI single.
Saints RHP Dustin Crenshaw went 6 innings, allowed one run and no walks.
Kansas City 4 , Lincoln 2 – Box
Kansas City edged out Lincoln 4-2 in its first game of the year. The T-Bones began the scoring with an RBI-single from 3B Jake Blackwood in the top of the first inning. The Saltdogs had a chance to score in the top of the fourth with men on second and third, and DH Jeremy Hamilton took advantage with a two-RBI single to make the score 2-1 Lincoln.
In the eighth inning, the T-Bones were able to tie the score at 2-2 after an error by the shortstop. Then LF Adam Bailey hit an RBI-double, and the T-Bones added another run to make it 4-2 in its favor.
T-Bones RHP Fernando Hernandez went 5 innings and gave up four hits and two earned runs while Lincoln RHP Jesse Smith went six innings, only giving up three runs, one earned run, and notching three strike-outs.
Laredo 6, Amarillo 5 – Box
The Laredo Lemurs won a tight 6-5 game against Amarillo after a walk-off hit by DH Anthony Kirby-Jones who went 4-4. After a run by RF Logan Vick, DH Geraldo Valentin had an RBI-single and C Corey Bass had a two-RBI single to make it 4-0 Thunderheads in the first inning. The Lemurs responded in the bottom of the third inning to make it 4-1 after an RBI-single from 1B Matt Padgett.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, RF Denis Phipps hit a solo home run to make the score 4-2. Then CF Dvontrey Richardson hit an RBI-single in the seventh inning to close the gap to 4-3. The score was tied 4-4 in the ninth, but Vick hit a RBI-double to put the Thunderheads in front 5-4.
The Lemurs would not quit, however. Phipps hit an RBI-single in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score at 5-5. And then Kirby-Jones hit the RBI-single to win the game.
The Lemurs had two errors in the game while Amarillo had none.
Sioux Falls 6, Sioux City 5 – Box
Sioux Falls used nine hits and three runs in the fifth to take down Sioux City, 6-5. After a walk, double, and intentional walk in the top of the first inning, Sioux Falls seemed to be in position to score but came up empty after 2B Michael Wing eventually grounded out with two outs. But the Canaries did manage to get a run in the second inning after a sacrifice fly from CF Harrison Kain.
Sioux Falls made it 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning thanks to a RBI-single from 1B David Bergin. The scoring kept coming after Wing redeemed himself with a two-RBI double in the same inning.
Sioux City started its rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. They put up 5 runs in the inning, which included an RBI-single by CF Matty Johnson. But The Canaries retook the lead at 6-5 in the top of the ninth after a sacrifice fly and RBI-single by Bergin.
Winnipeg 7, Grand Prairie 1 – Box
The Goldeyes used 13 hits to get by the AirHogs 7-1. Through four innings, both teams only had two hits each. The Goldeyes put up two singles in the fifth inning, but nothing resulted of the hits. In the bottom of the fifth, the AirHogs got the scoring started with an RBI-single from 3B Frazier Hall.
However, Winnipeg stayed in the game and tied the score at 1-1 in the seventh inning with an RBI-single from C Luis Alen. The Goldeyes then had bases loaded with two outs for 1B Casey Haerther and he hit a two-RBI single to help Winnipeg take a 3-1 lead. In the top of the eighth, 2B Casio Grider hit an RBI-double to make it 4-1. Winnipeg got three more runs in the ninth inning, which included a two-RBI double by DH Aaron Baker.
Wichita 10, Joplin 3 – Box
Wichita got its first win of the season after defeating Joplin 10 to 3 Friday night. After a run in the top of the first for Wichita, Joplin was able to answer with a run of its own in the bottom of the second thanks to an RBI-single from RF Jesus Solorzano. The Wingnuts added to its run total and broke the 1-1 tie with a two-RBI double by 2B Luis Hernandez in the fourth inning.
Wichita’s lead grew to 4-1 in the fifth inning after an RBI-single from C John Nester. CF Jayce Ray then added a solo home run in the sixth inning.
After Ray’s home run, the Wingnuts added two more runs to increase its lead to 7-1 after six innings. The Joplin Blasters were never able to recover after three more runs from Wichita in the seventh inning.
Gary Southshore 4, Quebec 3 – Box
Gary Southshore won a close 4-3 matchup against the Capitales Friday. After 11 runs last night, Quebec was eager to get on the scoreboard early once again. In the top of the first, DH Tim Smith hit an RBI-double to score RF Alexei Bell. The RailCats responded in the bottom half with bases loaded and no outs, but only managed one run after an RBI-groundout from LF Adam Taylor.
In the top of the seventh inning, Quebec broke the 1-1 tie when 2B Jonathan Malo scored on an error by the left fielder. But the RailCats responded quickly in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 2-2 after an unearned run by DH Carlton Salters.
The back and forth continued in the eighth inning when C Jean-Luc Blaquiere scored an unearned run to make it 3-2 Capitales. But the RailCats got two runs in the bottom half of the eighth to make it 4-3 after a sacrifice fly and a RBI-single by PH Sam Lind.
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