June 4: Goldeyes Return From Solid Road Trip to Open Seven-Game Homestand

Before he boarded the bus last Wednesday, Goldeyes coach Rudy Arias didn’t ask for a lot.

“If you understand the game, I think you say to yourself before a six-game road trip that if we come back 4-2 we’ve done a good job,” Arias said. “The other teams in this league are pretty good and if you can go through a season playing above .500 on the road, it’s a guarantee you’ve had a good year.

“I wouldn’t ask for 5-0 again (that’s how the Goldeyes fared to start the season on the season), but I think this team is good enough to go on the road and be 4-2.”

Ask and ye shall receive.

As the Goldeyes returned to Winnipeg to open a seven-game homestand starting Friday against arch-rival Fargo, the team just went 4-2 on the road after sweeping Joliet and winning one-of-three in Kansas City. The Fish are now 9-2 on the road this season, 12-5 overall and in first place in the Northern League, a game-and-a-half ahead of second-place Schaumburg.

There is now a real chance to make some hay with a solid homestand, after splitting a double-header in Kansas City on Wednesday.

The Fish won Game 1 of the twinbill with a thrilling 4-2 victory in 12 innings. As Northern League fans know, a double-header in this loop consists of two seven-inning games and when Game 1 goes 12 – and takes almost four hours to complete – you know it’s going to be a long day.

The T-Bones opened the scoring with a run in the third off Ace Walker, but the Fish evened the score in the top of the fourth off Luis Villarreal on a single by Cory Patton and a Dee Brown double.

In the top of the eleventh, the Goldeyes took a 2-1 lead when young Adam Frost tripled and scored on an RBI ground out by Patton. But T-Bones second baseman Damian Rolls tied it in the bottom of the frame with a solo homer off Goldeyes closer Matt Davis.

However, the Fish put it away in the top of twelve as Cody Ehlers singled and later scored when Dustin Richardson reached base on a throwing error by second baseman Neb Brown. Richardson later scored the insurance run on a Brent Metheny double.

Davis then pitched a perfect twelfth to win it and improve to 2-1 on the season.

In Game 2, the Goldeyes couldn’t solve Justin James, while Craig Hurba hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth as Kansas City earned a split with a 2-0 win.

So now the Goldeyes return to the friendly confines of Canwest Park for a three-game weekend series with Fargo, followed by four with the Gary SouthShore RailCats.

OK, so a 6-1 homestand wouldn’t be too much to ask, would it?