fmredhawks.com

FARGO, N.D. – Jeremiah Piepkorn hit the go-ahead run on an RBI single in the eighth, while Taylor Stanton and Joe Harris combined for a shutout in the American Association Semifinals Game 1 victory for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks over the Gary SouthShore RailCats, Wednesday at Newman Outdoor Field.

Ronnie Bourquin and C.J. Retherford hit singles in the eighth off RailCats’ Alain Quijano before the Gary SouthShore starter was pulled for reliever Kyle Lindquist with one out in the inning.

Piepkorn broke the scoreless tie with a single to right field that scored Bourquin from second for the eventual game-winning run. Tim Alberts followed with a first-pitch sacrifice fly extending the Fargo-Moorhead lead to two.

Stanton and Quijano were both solid in starts for the RedHawks and RailCats, respectively. Stanton had a stretch of nine straight batters retired during the ballgame, while Quijano retired 12 straight Fargo-Moorhead hitters until the seventh.

The RailCats’ best scoring chance came in the seventh. Gary SouthShore put runners on the corners after Brian Kolb led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a Zach Mitchell single. With one out, Stanton was able to strike out Danny Pulfer after a 10-pitch at-bat for two outs. Joe Harris came in out of the bullpen and the RedHawks were able to get out of the inning after Retherford, at second, made a quick scoop and throw to first to throw out Adam Klein on a close play at first for the third out and keep the game scoreless.

Harris struck out the side in the eighth and allowed only one hit in the ninth to pick up the victory for the RedHawks. Stanton pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and two walks, while striking out three.  

Quijano pitched 7 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on six hits with strikeouts in the loss for the RailCats.

Fargo-Moorhead outhit Gary SouthShore 7-6 in the Game 1 matchup. The RedHawks’ Jose Hernandez was the only player with a multi-hit game, picking up a double in a 2-for-3 performance. Cristian Guerrero hit a double for the only extra-base hit for Gary SouthShore.

The RedHawks and RailCats continue the best-of-five series at 7:02 p.m. Thursday at Newman Outdoor Field. Tickets are available at fmredhawks.com or by calling (701) 235-6161.