AMARILLO, TX – It only took two hours and forty seven minutes for the Sox to win their second straight against Fargo-Moorhead, 8-6. A crowd of 1,787 at Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium saw the Sox win this back-and-fourth affair as Amarillo wins the series against the RedHawks.
As custom in the American Association, there was early scoring to begin the game. The RedHawks jumped ahead 2-0 with a run in each of the first and second innings, the second run being a solo homer to right off the bat of Ryan Delgado. The Sox tied the game after two when Harrison Kain and Jason White hit for back-to-back RBI singles. The lead belonged to the Sox after Tim Alberts’ single brought in Jake Opitz. Then in the fifth, the Sox would score Opitz again, this time off a double by catcher, Alberto Espinosa, making it 4-2.
Fargo-Moorhead answered back in the sixth with a run, hit in by Carlo Cota. And to take the lead in the seventh, the Redhawks two and three hitters, Ryan Stovall and Nic Jackson, drove in a run a piece, with the score 5-4. Another run in the top of the eighth by Dale Cornstubble’s first hit of his career, driving in Todd Jennings, who had got on with a two-out double.
The Sox started the bottom of the eighth down 6-4 but the first three batters of the inning were able to get on with two hits from Adam Buschini and Mitch Abeita and a walk drawn by Garrett Rau. White’s walk with the bases loaded started the rally, then it was Matt Tucker’s basehit that put the Sox back ahead 7-6. The next batter, Opit,z would hit in Jason White from third to make it 8-6.
In the top of the ninth, reliever Chase Johnson (S, 1) earned his first save of the year after putting two runners on. Johnson’s one inning of work allowed no runs on one hit with one walk. Reliever Ryan Mitchell pitched one and one-third innings; giving up two earned runs on four hits before winner Jack Spradlin (1-1) came in relief of Mitchell in the eighth, to face just one batter and record a strikeout.
Chuck Lofgren, who started for the Sox, left the game in the seventh after six and one-third innings pitched, with four earned runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking two. His ERA moves to 4.77 on the year.
RedHawk starter, Aaron Shafer pitched five innings, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out six and walking three with his ERA moving to 6.10. Tyler Herron’s hitless sixth inning, with one strikeout and Joe Harris’ hitless two-thirds of an inning in the seventh, with one strikeout, held the Sox going into the eighth inning. But the Kevin Fuqua (0-1) line of one and one-third innings pitched with four earned runs on five hits earns him the loss in this game. Fuqua finished with two walks and two strikeouts and his ERA moving to 7.71.
With the second consecutive win, the Sox go to 2-4 while the RedHawks drop to 4-3 on the season
