The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks beat the St. Paul Saints 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon to take the three-game series. It was an offensive outburst for the RedHawks, who managed to put up five runs in the first two innings, including four in the first.
Brennan Metzger started things off for Fargo-Moorhead when he led off the game with his fourth double in the last two games. He didn’t have to spend much time at second base, as Maikol Gonzalez followed him up with a home run into the left-field bullpen to put the RedHawks up, 2-0.
After Devan Ahart and Keury De La Cruz both struck out, Leobaldo Pina got into the act and hit a home run into the bullpen to extend the lead to 3-0.
Tommy Mendonca didn’t want to be left out of the hit parade and doubled to right field, scoring when Tim Colwell singled to right field. The inning only ended when Colwell was caught leaning off first and was picked off by catcher Justin O’Conner.
The RedHawks added another run in the second when Yhoxian Medina led the inning off with a single, advanced when Steve Zimmerman was hit by a pitch and scored when Gonzalez singled to left field. That was the last batter for Saints starter Matt Solter, who lasted just one and one-third innings, giving up five earned runs and seven hits.
He was replaced by Ryan Zimmerman, who got Ahart and De La Cruz to fly out to end the inning, then proceeded to work the next four innings, giving up just one hit and no runs to keep the score from getting any more out of hand.
The Saints were unable to get much offense going against RedHawks starter Sebastian Kessay, who held the Saints hitless until the fifth inning when O’Conner singled. For the day, Kessay lasted six and two-thirds innings, allowing just one earned run and six hits.
The majority of those hits came in the seventh inning when the Saints pieced together three hits to push across their lone run of the game. That inning signaled the end of the game for Kessay, who turned things over to the RedHawks bullpen who finished things off.
The Saints now go back to the bus to travel to Chicago and Lincoln before returning to CHS Field to face the Winnipeg Goldeyes.
Notes
- After his double in the first, Metzger was held fairly quiet, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts after that. He still had an outstanding series, going a total of 6-for-14 with four doubles and two runs batted in and three runs scored.
- Prior to the game, the Saints made a few roster moves, releasing pitcher Jeff Malm and moving Ryan Bolter to the disabled list with elbow tendinitis. They signed Dan Johnson, who is a former big leaguer and a former Saint. Johnson is only able to pitch, not bat due to American Association roster rules, and will be classified as a rookie.
- While the Saints are out of town, there is still plenty of baseball to be played at CHS Field, as the Minnesota State High School League state baseball tournament will take over this weekend. The 4A tournament will be held at CHS Field, with the state championship taking place on Saturday at 7:30 pm at Target Field. Brackets can be found at mshsl.org.
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