FARGO, ND – One swing. That's the only offense the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks got on Sunday afternoon. It turned out to be the only offense the RedHawks need as a three-run home run from Charlie Valerio propelled Fargo-Moorhead to a 3-2 win over division foe Winnipeg in front of 4,240 fans at Newman Outdoor Field on Father's Day Sunday.
The Goldeyes struck first. Brady Wilson drew a leadoff walk from RedHawks starter Mike Mason and would proceed to take second. Adam Heisler drove him in on a chopper up the middle making it 1-0. Wilson would score again in the third on a fielding error from first baseman Joe Bonfe and the Goldeyes took a 2-0 lead.
Having an early lead fueled Winnipeg starter Nick Hernandez. Hernandez came into the game with the American Association's third best ERA (1.63), and he showed why early on. After Zach Penprase drew a leadoff walk, Hernandez retired 12 straight and had a no-hitter going through four innings.
Hernandez started out the fifth by walking DH Joe Staley. Drew Muren reached on a fielder's choice and Staley was safe on the second bag via a throwing error from third baseman Ramon Ortega. Charlie Valerio was up next with runners on first and second and had enough. Valerio was ejected the night before and part of the altercation from Friday night's game, and RedHawks coaches had told Valerio to beat the Goldeyes using his bat. He did just that. Valerio took the first pitch he saw and belted it over the left field fence for the first hit of the game and gave Fargo-Moorhead a 3-2 lead. After the game Valerio said he saw Hernandez's changeup earlier and missed it. He said, “I've been ready for a change up so he threw it for me the first pitch (last at-bat) and I missed it. If he threw it again, change up, 'Do it. Home run. He threw me a change up and I hit a home run.”
Goldeye's pitchers faced the minimum for the next three frames but couldn't muster the offense down the stretch. Brad Boyer hit a double in the ninth inning to deep left-center but Ortega would fly out to Drew Muren in center ending the ball game.
Mike Mason earns the win for the RedHawks. The lefty went 5.1 innings allowing two runs (both earned) on five hits with five walks and four strikeouts. He is now 2-2 on the year with a 5.32 ERA. Hernandez takes the loss for Winnipeg and drops to 2-2. In Mike Nesseth's second appearance as a RedHawk he earns the save.
The RedHawks improve to 9-21 while Winnipeg drops to 12-16. Fargo-Moorhead hits the road for a three game set in Lincoln with the Saltdogs before returning home on Thursday to take on the division leading St. Paul Saints. Brandon Mann will start game one tomorrow night with Lincoln at 6:35 p.m.
Game Date: 06/21/2015
Winnipeg Goldeyes 2 AT Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 3
YTD YTD
Winnipeg AB R H BI AVG Fargo AB R H BI AVG
B.Wilson RF 3 2 1 0 .266 Z.Penprase SS 3 0 0 0 .292
A.Heisler LF 4 0 1 1 .234 F.Salerno 2B 3 0 1 0 .274
C.Haerther 1B 3 0 1 0 .277 C.Mozingo LF 4 0 0 0 .328
N.Jackson CF 3 0 0 0 .250 J.Bonfe 1B 3 0 0 0 .222
J.Mazzola SS 4 0 0 0 .283 J.Staley DH 2 1 0 0 .310
J.Weber DH 3 0 0 0 .286 J.Dunigan RF 3 0 1 0 .200
L.Alen C 2 0 0 0 .269 D.Muren CF 3 1 0 0 .274
B.Boyer 2B 4 0 2 0 .254 C.Valerio C 2 1 1 3 .306
R.Ortega 3B 4 0 1 0 .233 T.Doughty 3B 2 0 0 0 .111
30 2 6 1 25 3 3 3
Winnipeg 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 1
Fargo 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 x - 3 3 1
2B--B.Boyer (4). HR--C.Valerio (2). RBI--A.Heisler (11), C.Valerio 3 (8).
SH--T.Doughty (0). SB--B.Wilson 2 (6), A.Heisler (12), F.Salerno (6).
E--R.Ortega (2), J.Bonfe (7).
LOB--Winnipeg 7, Fargo 3. DP--F. Salerno(2B) - Z. Penprase(SS) - J.
Bonfe(1B), C. Haerther(1B) - J. Mazzola(SS), J. Bonfe(1B) - J. Bonfe(1B).
YTD
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Winnipeg
N.Hernandez (L,2-2) 6.0 2 3 2 2 5 1 1.99
R.Varner 1.2 1 0 0 2 1 0 4.09
B.Logan 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
8 3 3 2 4 6 1
Fargo
M.Mason (W,2-2) 5.1 5 2 2 5 4 0 5.32
T.Alexander 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.18
E.Englebrook 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
M.Nesseth (S,1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
9 6 2 2 6 7 0
WP--R.Varner (1). SO--B.Wilson, N.Jackson 2, J.Mazzola, J.Weber, L.Alen,
R.Ortega, J.Bonfe, J.Staley, J.Dunigan 2, D.Muren, T.Doughty. BB--B.Wilson,
C.Haerther, N.Jackson, J.Weber, L.Alen 2, Z.Penprase, F.Salerno, J.Staley,
C.Valerio. BF--N.Hernandez 22 (174), R.Varner 7 (7), B.Logan (1), M.Mason
24 (114), T.Alexander 4 (48), E.Englebrook 4 (7), M.Nesseth 4 (8).
P-S--N.Hernandez 88-60, R.Varner 21-9, B.Logan 1-1, M.Mason 107-55,
T.Alexander 17-11, E.Englebrook 16-8, M.Nesseth 13-10.
T--2:45. A--4240
Weather: 80 F, Sunny
Plate Umpire - Chantz Wilson, Field Umpire #1 - Tyler Thurmond, Field Umpire #2 - Bryan Childe
