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Prior to Friday night, the previous high for runs scored by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in 2016 was five. Designated Hitter Keury De La Cruz topped that all by himself in a 13-3 victory over the Wichita Wingnuts in the Home Opener at Newman Outdoor Field on Friday night. The start of the game was delayed by 1:17 due to rain.

Cruz crushed the first pitch he saw for a two run bomb, and didn’t let up as the night went on. He jacked two more over the right field fence, and finishing with three home runs, tying a team record with eight RBIs and added a double.

Cruz wasn’t the only offense for the ‘Hawks though. Leadoff man Chad Mozingo got his season back on the right track with two hits, three runs scored (on all three of Cruz’ home runs), and an RBI. Ryan Wagner, Josh Mazzola, and Brian Humphries all added two hits as well.

The scoring started with De La Cruz in the first, then kept rolling from there. In the second the team stretched the lead with five more runs. Mozingo and Ryan Pineda each knocked a run home and then scored on De La Cruz’ next home run. The third was scoreless but the fourth inning was plenty explosive. De La Cruz blasted his third of the night for three runs to make the game 10-0. Two more runs were driven in by Wagner and K.D. Kang for a 12-0 game through four innings.

On the mound for the RedHawks was Tyler Herron, and he didn’t really need all the run support he was given. In six innings he struck out nine and allowed zero runs on seven hits. The Wingnuts got some offense going in the seventh and eighth innings, scoring one and two runs respectively, but the game was already in hand for Fargo-Moorhead to earn a big win in their home opener.

Herron (1-0) earned his first win of the year and Eddie Medina (0-2) was tagged with the loss. Saturday will be game two of the three-game series at Newman Outdoor Field. That game is slated for a 6:00 start.