June 8: Long the Hero Again as Fish Sweep Fargo

Wes Long says he likes to try to “let the ball get deep” when he faces a two-strike count of any kind.

“If it isn’t a two-strike count, I’ll get out front a little bit and try to hit the ball hard into leftf ield of left-centre,” said the Goldeyes shortstop. “When I have two strikes on me, I like to let it get deeper and get a better look at it. Maybe hit it to centre or right field. I don’t shorten my swing, I just wait a little longer.”

That strategy worked perfectly on Sunday afternoon. With the game tied 5-5, two-out in the bottom of the ninth, Adam Frost on second and Long facing a 3-and-2 count, Winnipeg’s leading hitter waited for a fastball to get into the middle of the plate and then he jumped on it, driving a line-shot, base hit to centre field.

Frost, one of the fastest players on the team, scored easily from second base as the Goldeyes not only won 6-5, but swept the RedHawks out of Canwest Park (the second time the Goldeyes have swept Fargo this year), improved to 15-5 on the season and remained two full games ahead of Schaumburg in the race for first in the Northern League.

For Long, who replaced fan-favourite Max Poulin at shortstop this season, this was a remarkable effort. He went three-for-four, scored a run, drove in three, including both the tying and winning runs. He also doubled to lead off the game and scored the game’s first run.

Through 20 games, Long is hitting .385 with nine doubles, a homer, five walks, a slugging percentage of .538 and an on-base percentage of .422.

“I’ve been doing alright,” said Long, trying to (a) stay modest and (b) not jinx his great start. “I’m just trying to keep being consistent and bring consistency to the rest of the season.

“All I’ve tried to do is stay on top of the ball and hit it hard. Hitting is a strange thing. Some days you can go three-for-four and drive in runs. Other days you can go one-for-six, like I did on Saturday night. I just want to stay consistent, that’s all. If I do that, everything else will be fine.”