FARGO, North Dakota – The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks shut out the Gary SouthShore RailCats to sweep the three-game, mid-week series on a warm afternoon in June.
The RedHawks offense came out of the gates fast as they would collect a few hits and get runners in scoring position, but it would be for naught until the bottom of the third. Evan Alexander opened the frame with a double, he would then move to third on a wild pitch and would score in the following at-bat thanks to a Sam Dexter single to left field for the game’s opening salvo.
Fargo-Moorhead would jump back on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth as Conor Maguire reached first on an error by the first baseman. Alexander would collect his second double of the game to move Maguire to third, then a sacrifice fly by Dexter would score the runner. With two outs, Leo Pina would single to center to score Alexander. Correlle Prime would follow that with a ground-rule double over the left-center wall. Lastly, a single by Alex Olund would bring the game to a 5-0 score.
Tyler Grauer starts on the hill for the RedHawks, and he would put on a clinic against the RailCats. Despite allowing four hits, he would face only one batter over the minimum as for every single he gave up, a ground ball double play would follow soon after. He completed the shutout allowing no walks and striking out four batters amidst his fifth quality start of the season.
The RedHawks would tack on two more runs off the RailCats’ bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. Dexter and Pina would lead off the inning with back-to-back singles. Following a double steal and a flyout, both runners will advance off a wild pitch, scoring Dexter and advancing Pina to third. Olund would drive a double on the following pitch to score the runner and bring the game to its eventual final score of 6-0.
With the win, the RedHawks rose to a 23-12 record, keeping pace with the race for the AAPB Division lead. Fargo-Moorhead will be back in action on Friday, June 23 when they welcome in the Sioux City Explorers for a three-game weekend series at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch for the Fireworks Night is scheduled for 7:02 p.m.