It’s on to the fifth-and-deciding game. Winner take all.
Goldeyes starter Ace Walker and relievers Zach Baldwin and Chris Homer pitched well, but the Winnipeg hurlers couldn’t get any run support and lost Game 4 of the Northern League semi-final 3-2 to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on Saturday.
That sets up Game 5 tonight. The winner will meet either Gary or Kansas City in the final because the other semi-final is also tied 2-2 after Kansas City shaded Gary 2-1 in Game 4.
Fargo scored two in the first and one in the fourth while Winnipeg managed one in the first and one more in the sixth and that was it. Even though both teams pounded out 10 hits, seven pitchers combined to keep the runs to a minimum. There were only four extra-base hits in total and Kevin West’s solo homer in the sixth was the only long ball of the game.
“All we wanted to do was get on top early and see if our pitching staff could hold on,” said Fargo hero Zach Penprase, who went three-for-four with a run scored and the game’s first run batted in.
“The top of our order was good tonight and when we get the top of the order on base, we can usually score enough runs to win. Because we got some great pitching, we were able to get a lead and hold it.”
In fairness, every pitcher in the ball game had to thank at least one player behind him. There were some tremendous defensive plays in Game 4, especially from Goldeyes third baseman Vince Harrison, second baseman Josh Asanovich and Fargo second baseman Carlo Cota.
So now it comes down to one game. Game 5 on Sunday night, the first time in the team’s 16-year history that the Goldeyes will play a Sunday night game at home.
“I’m excited about Sunday night’s game,” said Goldeyes manager Rick Forney. “I believe in my club. I like my club and I think they’ll come out on Sunday night and play hard.”
Bear Bay will pitch for Winnipeg while Jeff Icenogle replies for Fargo. Game time at Canwest Park is 7:00.
THE BLOOM OFF THE ROSE
Friday night, Goldeyes third baseman Vince Harrison started the first triple play in Goldeyes history. With Nic Jackson on second and Mike Coles on first, Fargo’s Ruben Salazar hit a ground ball to Harrison who tagged Jackson between second and third, fired to Josh Asanovich at second to get Coles and then Asanovich made a sensational turn at second and fired a strike to first baseman Cody Ehlers to get Salazar.
The fans went wild, many of the Goldeyes players admitted it was the first triple play they’d seen, while it was “the first one I’ve seen live in 19 years in baseball” for Forney.
But Harrison, the man who started the whole thing, just shrugged.
“It was my third triple play this season,” he said. “I was involved in two of them in Schaumburg this year. And I was part of two triple plays in the Devil Rays system. This was the fifth triple play I’ve been a part of.”
Guess it wasn’t that big a deal.
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