FARGO, North Dakota – Early offensive production was simply not enough as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks fell to the Sioux City Explorers on a muggy Thursday night at Newman Outdoor Field.
RedHawks’ starter Kelvan Pilot came out firing, striking out the first three Explorers he faced in the top of the first inning. The bats would use the early momentum in the bottom of the game’s opening frame with a Manny Boscan double to right field followed by a Scott Schreiber single to center to score Boscan for the game’s opening salvo and the lone run scored in the inning.
Pilot secured his fourth strikeout in a row before Sioux City collected their first hit of the ball game in the top of the second. But it was in the top of the third when the Explorers put their first run on the board, utilizing a double and a single to tie the game at one a piece. The visitors would later take the lead in the top of the fifth as they pieced together three singles and a walk to take a 3-1 lead. Pilot’s night would end in the top of the sixth and the book closed on him pitching 5.2 innings, allowing three runs off six hits and five walks and collecting six strikeouts.
From that point on, the strikeout leader of the AAPB in Sioux City starter Solomon Bates continued to limit Fargo-Moorhead’s bats allowing only two more hits as he completed his start tossing seven innings, striking out eight RedHawks. The Explorers closed things out with an insurance run in the top of the ninth to bring the game to its final score.
With the loss, the RedHawks drop the series to the Explorers and slip back to two games under .500 with a 37-39 record. They are back in action tomorrow night when they return to our neighbors to the north and face off in a weekend series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Friday night’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Shaw Park.
