SIOUX CITY SHOCKS REDHAWKS IN COMEBACK
X’s Pull of Stunner After Trailing 8-1 in the Eighth
Fargo, ND (July 27th, 2022) – For a third straight game the Sioux City Explorers win after trailing heading into their final at bat. They scored eight unanswered runs over the course of the eighth and ninth innings to pull off the remarkable 9-8 win over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.
Trailing 8-1 heading into the top of the eighth, Sioux City began the comeback with an Ademar Rifaela home run to lead off the inning. Jack Kelly soon followed with the first one of his professional career to pull Sioux City to within 8-3. Trey Martin and Sebastian Zawada also supplied two-out RBI singles to pull the X’s to within three runs, 8-5.
After Fargo left the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Sioux City started the rally in the ninth with a one out walk to Kelly. That was followed by a walk to Danny Amaral and a single by Blake Tiberi to load the bases. Trey Martin brought all three baserunners home with a double to the gap in left-center tying the game at eight. After advancing to third on a ground out, Martin scored on a wild pitch to give Sioux City the lead.
Thomas McIlraith (14) picked up the save with some help from his defense. Alec Olund led off the inning with a line drive base hit to left but Sebastian Zawada threw him out attempting to turn it into a double. Blake Tiberi made a sliding catch in foul ground for the second out and Nate Samson made a sliding play up the middle of the infield, getting a force out at second to end the game.
Fargo jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning starting with Alec Olund’s two-run triple in his first at-bat as a RedHawk. Runs also scored on a fielder’s choice and RBI singles from Peter Maris and Rymer Liriano.
Sioux City got on the board with a Martin solo homer in the fourth. Trey Martin ended the game going 3-5 with a homer, a double, 5 RBI, 3 runs scored and a stolen base.
Fargo had bases loaded and no one out in the fifth but could only push one run across the plate on a ground out from Sam Dexter. They added two runs in the sixth with a Silviano RBI single and a Liriano double to gain their 8-1 advantage they carried into the eighth.
The win is the tenth time the Explorers have won a game by scoring in their final at bat and the fourth time they’ve done it on this road trip.
Sioux City will go for the sweep over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on Thursday afternoon at 12:30 pm. Lefty Peyton Wigginton (4-2, 4.75) gets the ball for Fargo and Sioux City has yet to announce their starter.