SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS PRESS RELEASE
Phone: 817.739.3693
Website: xsbaseball.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2026
SIOUX CITY LEANS ON TWO‑OUT HITTING TO WOODCHIP FARGO‑MOORHEAD 7–4
WILLEMAN AND VOOLETICH LEAD THE WAY
By: Andrew Della Piana
FARGO, ND – Sioux City (35–40) opened its crucial divisional series with a strong 7–4 win over Fargo‑Moorhead (39–35) on Tuesday night, delivering timely two‑out hits and a lockdown bullpen effort.
Manager Steve Montgomery praised the grit on display, “…gutty performance by the gentleman. This is playoff baseball right now. We are do-or-die, found a way and dug in.”
The Explorers struck early, and they did it with two outs.
In the first, Braulio Vásquez lined a single to center to score Zac Vooletich for a 1–0 lead. An inning later, Dillon Tatum missed a home run by inches down the left‑field line, but his RBI double brought home Jackson Van De Brake to make it 2–0.
Fargo‑Moorhead answered in the third.
Jesus Lujano dropped a bunt up the third‑base line, and a throwing error allowed a run to score. In the chaos that followed, both Aidan Byrne and Lujano were caught in rundowns, but the Explorers lost track of Byrne, who raced home to tie the game 2–2.
Sioux City responded immediately in the fourth, again with two outs. Zac Vooletich cleared the bases with a three‑run double, pushing the Explorers ahead 5–2.
The RedHawks clawed back in the bottom half.
Tripp Clark singled home a run, and Lujano added a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5–4.
Starter Zach Willeman settled in from there, becoming the first pitcher in the league to reach 100 strikeouts. He finished one run shy of a quality start, allowing four over six innings.
Sioux City added insurance in the eighth. Austin Davis lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 6–4, and Vooletich followed with another sac fly for his fourth RBI of the night to extend the lead to 7–4.
From there, the bullpen took over. Rob Hughes, Kelvin Caceres, and Trey Morrill combined to shut the door, delivering three scoreless innings to secure the win.
Sioux City continues the three-game series against Fargo‑Moorhead on Wednesday at 7:02 p.m., with pregame coverage starting at 6:32 p.m. on KSCJ 94.9 FM and 1360 AM. Fans can also watch every American Association game this season on the league’s streaming platform at aabaseball.tv. Tickets for all remaining games are available now by calling the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS or online at xsbaseball.com.
Notes from the Booth with DV:
-Zac Vooletich stole three bases in the game giving the X’s a team total of 31 in the seven games with Fargo-Moorhead.
-Henry George and D’Shawn Knowles both reached base for the 15th straight game.
-The Explorers first five RBI came with two outs.
-The pen gave up just two hits and a walk in three innings.
-Zach Willeman reached 101 strikeouts for the season and 233 in his career. He is currently eighth in team history and trails former teammate Brandon Brosher by two for seventh.
-Fargo-Moorhead changed their name to the Woodchippers for the game and wore special yellow jerseys with black and yelllow caps paying tribute to the movie Fargo.
–ABOUT THE SIOUX CITY EXPLORERS: The Sioux City Explorers are a proud member of the American Association of Professional Baseball in Sioux City, IA. The Explorers play their home games at Security National Bank Field at Lewis & Clark Park. For more information, please visit xsbaseball.com and follow the team on Twitter at @SiouxCityXs and on Facebook at facebook.com/SiouxCityExplorers.
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