FARGO — After hitting a home run in his first pro at-bat on Sunday, RedHawks third baseman C.J. Valdez crushed a ninth-inning, walk-off blast on Tuesday night to clinch a 6-5 victory over the Sioux City Explorers at Newman Outdoor Field.
Valdez took a pitch, then knocked a ball – as measured by Trackman – 103 mph off the bat and 394 feet over the corner of the left field wall.
The home run sealed a RedHawks (14-8) win in Game 1 of a three-game series against the West Division rival X’s (8-14) after the visitors made a push late to tie the game.
Three momentum-swinging doubles in the fifth inning stormed the RedHawks into the lead after Sioux City took a 2-1 advantage in the third.
Back-to-back doubles from Sam Dexter and Chase McDaniel to start the inning tied things up, then Evan Alexander’s two-run two-bagger put the RedHawks ahead. A sacrifice fly from Sam Dexter plated another Fargo-Moorhead run in the sixth to make it 5-2.
Colten Davis did not factor into the decision despite a solid outing in his fifth start of the year, giving up two runs on only three hits in six innings on the mound.
Three runs for Sioux City in the eighth put a damper on the RedHawks’ momentum for a brief while, but Alex DuBord worked his way out of the top of the ninth after a leadoff walk to give Valdez and the RedHawks the chance to win it in the home half of the inning.
Fargo-Moorhead will continue its series against Sioux City on Wednesday at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch is slated for 7:02 p.m.
For the full 2024 RedHawks schedule and ticket information visit www.fmredhawks.com.
