REDHAWKS RALLY PAST BIRDS IN SERIES OPENER
Fargo, ND – Ty Culbreth tossed six shutout innings and left Monday’s game with a four-run lead but first-place Fargo-Moorhead rallied against the Sioux Falls bullpen to win 6-4 at Newman Outdoor Field.
Trey Michalczewski broke a scoreless tie with a one-out homerun in the fourth inning. Aaron Takacs followed with a single, stole second base then reached third on a Nick Gotta base hit. A successful double steal by Gotta and Takacs gave the Birds a 2-0 lead.
Jabari Henry walked with two outs an inning later and stole second base before Gavin LaValley drove him in with a single. Michalczewski drew a walk and Takacs plated LaValley with a base knock.
The score held until the bottom of the seventh inning when Fargo got on the scoreboard with a walk and two singles. A flyout and a strikeout had Sioux Falls on the cusp of escaping the inning with no further damage done but a two-run triple followed by an RBI single tied the game.
Fargo led off the eighth inning with a triple and scored the go-ahead run on a squeeze bunt. The RedHawks added an insurance run on a sacrifice fly later in the inning and Sioux Falls couldn’t bridge the gap in the top of the ninth.
Takacs finished 3-5 to lead the Canaries offensively while Culbreth scattered five hits and struckout six but would not factor into the decision. The Birds are now 31-48 and look to even the four-game series Tuesday at 7:02pm.
