Canaries Roll to Third Straight Victory
Sioux Falls, SD – The Canaries picked up their third consecutive victory on Tuesday, rolling past Kane County 14-5 to move within two and a half games of a spot in the American Association playoffs.
The Cougars opened the scoring with three runs in the second inning but the Birds responded with five in their half of the third. Wyatt Ulrich delivered an RBI single and Jabari Henry launched a three-run homerun to put Sioux Falls in front for good. Mike Hart added a solo shot before Kane County could escape the jam.
An RBI single in the fifth inning brought the Cougars within 5-4 and they’d go on to put runners at first and second base with no outs in the sixth. But starting pitcher Mitchell Walters induced two weak flyouts before picking up a strikeout to escape the jam.
The Birds carried that momentum into the bottom half of the frame, sending all nine batters to the plate and pushing five more runs across. Henry doubled before Hart was hit by a pitch and Darnell Sweeney loaded the bases with a bunt single. Trevor Achenbach drew a bases loaded walk before Hunter Clanin added to the lead with a sacrifice fly. Wyatt Ulrich drove in two more with a single and a wild pitch allowed a fifth run to score.
Kane County got a run back with a solo homerun in the top of the eighth but Sioux Falls scored four times in the bottom half as Henry, Sweeney, Achenbach and Clanin all produced RBI singles.
Six different Canaries finished with multiple hits, led by Henry and Sweeney with three each. Walters fanned five over six innings to earn his team-leading sixth victory. The Birds are now 35-41 and look to clinch the three-game series Wednesday at 6:35pm.
