FARGO, ND—The Sioux City Explorers (23-13) extended their winning streak to five games with a 7-5 victory over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (18-17) on Tuesday night. A four-run surge in the fourth inning proved decisive, as the X’s held off multiple RedHawks rallies to stay hot and tighten up the West Division race.
Both teams got the ball rolling in the first inning. The Explored put runners on second and third in the opening frame as D’Shawn Knowles knocked in Henry George with an RBI grounder to first base.
Sioux City’s starter Peniel Otaño allowed a lead-off double to Lamar Sparks and then walked the next two batters to load the bases. Robert Perez Jr singled home a run to tie the ballgame, and Alexfri Planez’s sacrifice fly put the RedHawks ahead with a 2-1 lead.
The first stanza very easily could’ve escalated into a big-time crooked number for Fargo-Moorhead, but Otaño retired the next two batters, keeping the contest within one. He and Fargo-Moorhead’s hurler Orlando Rodriguez (1-2) settled in over the next two innings.
The X’s offense reignited in the fourth. Kurtis Byrne laced a go-ahead two-run single to left, and Sioux City took the lead. Two batters later, Henry doubled down the right field line, knocking in Byrne and Nick Shumpert and giving the X’s some insurance runs, now leading 5-2.
The RedHawks fought back again in the bottom of the inning, pulling back within a run thanks to Miguel Ojeda Jr’s two-run single through the right side of the infield.
Kyle Johnston took the reins from Rodriguez in the fifth inning after a lead-off walk to Armando Alvarez. He didn’t fair much better against Sioux City’s bats as Abdiel Layer added two more runs on a double down the left field line, reestablishing a three-run lead.
X’s manager, Steve Montgomery, pulled Otaño in the bottom of the same inning, bringing in Nate Gercken (2-1) for his 198th career appearance as an Explorer. The six-foot-seven right-hander retired the side without allowing a run.
After two scoreless frames from Gercken, he yielded a run in the seventh via Alec Olund’s RBI double and was pulled for Jeremy Goins with the tying run at the plate. The new arm retired the side without another issue, and the Explorers took a 7-5 advantage into the penultimate frame.
Goins returned for the eighth and sent down the RedHawks in order before handing the ball off to Felix Cepeda in the ninth inning to close it out. The Dominican righty slammed the door and earned his ninth save of the season.
The Sioux City Explorers are winners of five consecutive games and have moved within just a half-game of Kansas City for the West Division lead, as the Monarchs lost to Cleburne 10-6. The X’s end the day ten games above .500.
The X’s continue a six-game road trip. The next two games against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks start at 7:02 p.m. Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10-, 15-, and 25-game Flex Packs. For more information, please call the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers’ social media channels and the club’s website, xsbaseball.com, for all our news and updates.