FARGO, ND – The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks pulled out their brooms on Thursday night as they came out on top in a 3-2 pitchers duel with Lincoln and swept the Saltdogs with 3,758 looking on at Newman Outdoor Field.
It was a battle of left-handers on the mound as Tyler Alexander took the ball for the 'Hawks countered by Lincoln's Kevin McGovern.
After Alexander tossed a scoreless first, Fargo-Moorhead would plate all three of it's runs in the home half of the inning. Zach Penprase led off with a double pulled to left-center bringing Drew Muren to the plate. Muren then sliced a ball to the corner in left field and began to trot into second when he realized the ball ricocheted off the wall and the gazelle turned it on sliding into third with an RBI triple, his third of the season. With Mozingo at the dish, Muren would scoot home on a wild pitch from Kevin McGovern and Mozingo would proceed to walk. Two batters later Luke Bailey would drive in Mozingo on a groundout to second making it 3-0.
Lincoln would respond in the top half of the second. Mike Gilmartin would double down the line in left and score later on a Jeremy Hamilton triple that Joe Dunigan misplayed in right field. Hamilton would score on a wild pitch from Alexander and the Saltdogs cut the lead to 3-2.
McGovern produced numbers worthy of a quality start, going seven strong allowing three runs on eight hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts. He was effective from the second inning on as he only faced 22 batters until he gave way to Ryan Fennell for the eighth.
Tyler Alexander was just a little bit better on this night. Alexander has pitched extremely well in starts at Newman Outdoor Field this season. He has only made two starts for the 'Hawks at home, but he managed to go the distance in both games, going 1-1 in those outings while giving up just one run in each game. Though he didn't quite make 27 outs, he was close. He went eight innings allowing a pair of runs on six hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.
Alexander has quietly been one of the top strikeout pitchers in the American Association all season. Overshadowed by Brandon Mann and Tyler Herron, who sit at first and third, respectively, on the list, he has moved himself into the top four in the league as he now has 91 strikeouts on the season. The feat is especially impressive considering he was not moved into the rotation until June 24th, where he has been a mainstay ever since.
Of his recent success, Alexander says it's all about sticking to the basics. He commented, “I just have to go up there and let my stuff work. I haven't been able to reach back and throw the fastball as hard as I want, but it's been effective. I've used lots of movement and off-speed pitches for strikes as well as punch out pitches. I trust in my catcher, (Charlie) Valerio, and execute what he puts down.”
Facing the 5-6-7 batters in Lincoln's lineup, Mike Nesseth came on to try and earn his 14th save of the season and clinch the team's first series sweep of the season. He retired the side in order striking out one in the process giving Fargo-Moorhead it's fourth straight win, which ties a season high, and the club's first sweep of the 2015 campaign.
Alexander (3-5) earns the win and now has won back-to-back games in as many starts. His ERA dips from 3.39 to 3.29 after the performance, lowest of RedHawks starters. McGovern (4-8) takes the loss for the Saltdogs.
With the win the RedHawks improve to 33-50 and have won ten of their last 12 games. Lincoln slips to 30-53 and drops it's sixth straight game. Fargo-Moorhead will welcome the Gary Southshore RailCats to town tomorrow night for the first of a three game set. Taylor Stanton (3-4, 4.21 ERA) is set to toe the rubber in the opener at 7:02 p.m. Pre-game show is on 740 AM The Fan with Scott Miller residing behind the microphone at 6:40.
NOTES: Joe Dunigan went 1-for-4 while extending his hitting streak to 11 games.
Game Date: 08/20/2015
Lincoln Saltdogs 2 AT Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 3
YTD YTD
Lincoln AB R H BI AVG Fargo AB R H BI AVG
M.Forgatch CF 4 0 1 0 .270 Z.Penprase SS 3 1 1 0 .291
A.Payne 2B 3 0 1 0 .252 D.Muren CF 4 1 3 1 .269
M.Canham 3B 4 0 1 0 .301 C.Mozingo LF 3 1 0 0 .320
C.Smith 1B 4 0 0 0 .297 J.Bonfe 1B 4 0 1 0 .291
M.Gilmartin SS 4 1 1 0 .261 J.Dunigan RF 4 0 1 0 .238
R.Wiggins C 4 0 0 0 .223 L.Bailey DH 3 0 0 1 .238
B.Joynt DH 4 0 1 0 .246 C.Valerio C 3 0 0 0 .271
J.Hamilton LF 3 1 1 1 .222 R.Pineda 2B 3 0 1 0 .250
T.White RF 3 0 0 0 .184 T.Oldham 3B 3 0 1 0 .264
33 2 6 1 30 3 8 2
Lincoln 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 6 0
Fargo 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 x - 3 8 2
2B--A.Payne (9), M.Gilmartin (12), B.Joynt (18), Z.Penprase (20).
3B--J.Hamilton (1), D.Muren (3). RBI--J.Hamilton (31), D.Muren (30),
L.Bailey (35). SB--C.Mozingo (16). CS--T.Oldham (3). E--T.Oldham (7),
T.Alexander (4).
LOB--Lincoln 5, Fargo 5.
YTD
IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lincoln
K.McGovern (L,4-8) 7.0 8 3 3 2 6 0 5.22
R.Fennell 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.70
8 8 3 3 2 6 0
Fargo
T.Alexander (W,3-5) 8.0 6 2 2 1 8 0 3.29
M.Nesseth (S,14) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.61
9 6 2 2 1 9 0
WP--K.McGovern (10), T.Alexander (7). SO--M.Forgatch, C.Smith, M.Gilmartin,
R.Wiggins 2, B.Joynt 2, J.Hamilton, T.White, Z.Penprase, D.Muren, J.Bonfe,
L.Bailey, R.Pineda, T.Oldham. BB--A.Payne, Z.Penprase, C.Mozingo.
BF--K.McGovern 29 (480), R.Fennell 3 (82), T.Alexander 31 (376), M.Nesseth
3 (90). P-S--K.McGovern 102-67, R.Fennell 12-9, T.Alexander 130-79,
M.Nesseth 8-5.
T--2:26. A--3758
Weather: 70 F, Sunny
