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Sioux City-----Cristian Guerrero's three-run home in the first inning gave Sioux Falls a 3-0 lead and they never looked back in a 7-3 victory over the Explorers here on Friday. 

It was Guerrero's league leading 14th home run of the season as the Pheasants won their second straight over their I-29 rivals.  Sioux Falls scored two more runs in the second inning to increase their lead to 5-0 before the Explorers could score.  However, the big story of the contest was that the Explorers stranded a season high 15 base runners and left the bases loaded in three different innings.  The Explorers had base runners in every inning, except the ninth when the X's were retired in order.  The Explorers outhit Sioux Falls 11-9 with Peter Barrows leading the way with three hits, but the Explorers were not able to drive home runs after getting runners on base.  Mitchell Clegg pitched five plus innings to pick up the victory for Sioux Falls while Explorers starter Alain Quijano went six innings and took the loss for the Explorers. 

After a recent road trip to St. Paul where the Explorers won three out of four, the X's have returned home and dropped two straight.  The third game of the four-game series between the Explorers and Sioux Falls will be Saturday at 7:05 at Lewis and Clark Park.