RedHawks ease into series-opening win against Lincoln

Dylan Engel

FARGO – In the first game back after the American Association’s All-Star Break, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks pounded 15 hits and two home runs en route to a 10-2 win Friday night over the Lincoln Saltdogs in front of 3,667 fans at Newman Outdoor Field. 

Two runs in the second, three in the third and two more in the fourth put the home team ahead for good after the Saltdogs jumped on starter Jake Dykhoff early for a run in the top half of the first inning. 

Every hitter in the lineup had at least one hit for Fargo-Moorhead. 

Nos. 2-4 in the RedHawks batting order – Dillon Thomas, Juan Fernandez and José Sermo – each had two RBIs, with Thomas and Sermo each homering, and Nick Northcut and Aidan Byrne added two more RBIs each from the bottom two spots in the lineup. 

Sermo’s 383-foot, opposite-field home run in the third inning nearly hit the scoreboard, then Thomas followed with a moonshot onto Albrecht Boulevard in the eighth. 

In between, the RedHawks added four more runs, including a picture-perfect safety squeeze bunt by Aidan Byrne that scored Michael Hallquist from third base. 

On the mound, Dykhoff recovered well with what felt like most of Wadena in attendance behind the RedHawks dugout, going 5.2 innings with two earned runs allowed on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk. 

The RedHawks and Saltdogs will continue their three-game series on Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Fargo. 

The first 1,500 fans in attendance Saturday will receive a free RedHawks cap courtesy of KIA of Fargo.