FARGO – C.J. Valdez rifled a ball down the left field line in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday to bring around Dillon Thomas from second and score the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (26-18) a 5-4 walk-off win over the Chicago Dogs (23-21) in front of 3,473 fans at Newman Outdoor Field.

The win moves Fargo-Moorhead back within a game of Sioux Falls for the American Association’s West Division lead.

With the RedHawks holding a 3-1 advantage entering the sixth, Chicago rallied for three runs to take back the lead for the first time since the first inning. But the RedHawks answered back immediately in the bottom half of the inning with a Jordan Siket RBI single to level the score at 4-4 down the stretch.

Orlando Rodriguez made his first start for the RedHawks since June 13, striking out five and allowing three earned runs on three hits in 5.2 innings of work.

After 1.1 shutout innings from Jake Dykhoff, Garrett Alexander came on in the eighth to throw two high-energy, shutout innings and earn his second win of the season.

The RedHawks and Dogs will finish their series on Sunday afternoon at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.