Sports stats



Battle Creek Battle Jacks

Birds Drop Series Opener to RedHawks

July 20, 2017 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Battle Creek Battle Jacks News Release


Sioux Falls, SD - The Sioux Canaries fell to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, 7-4, in the series opener at Sioux Falls Stadium in front of a Tuesday night crowd of 2,379.

Joe Bircher struggled through his first two frames against the RedHawks, before settling down for his final four innings of work. Bircher allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits and three walks in the first and second innings to give Fargo the lead.

The Canaries tied things up in the bottom of the first on back-to-back-to-back singles from Ty Morrison, Chris Jacobs and Burt Reynolds, but fell behind after the RedHawks added three runs in the top of the second.

With his first inning single, Morrison extended his hitting streak to 10 games, the third Sioux Falls Canary to tally a double-digit hit streak this season.

Bircher allowed just four hits over the third through sixth innings, but Tyler Herron did him one better for Fargo-Moorhead, allowing just three hits over the second through sixth innings after allowing a run in the first.

Nicco Blank relieved Bircher in the seventh and quickly retired the first two batters, but a single and a walk followed before Trever Adams cleared the bases and extended the RedHawks' lead to 7-1 with a three-run homer to deep left.

The Birds would answer in the bottom half of the seventh, starting with Trey Vavra, who led off the inning with a solo home run, his first of the season.

Dan Motl singled and stole second with one out before Jabari Henry cut the lead back to three with a two-run shot. Henry's homer, his fifteenth of the season, tied Jacobs and Kansas City T-Bones' infielder Kevin Keyes for the American Association lead.

Bo Hellquist and James Jones combined to keep Fargo-Moorhead off the scoreboard over the eighth and ninth innings, but the Birds' bats went silent against Trey McNutt and Casey Weathers in the final two frames to give the RedHawks the victory.

Bircher takes the loss for the Canaries, who fall to 26-30 on the season. Herron picks up the win for Fargo-Moorhead, while Weathers earns his tenth save of the season. With the win, Fargo moves to 28-28 on the year.

The Birds continue their three-game series against the RedHawks on Wednesday night at 7:05 PM at Sioux Falls Stadium. RHP Bryce Morrow (1-4, 5.79 ERA) will take the hill for the Birds facing RedHawks' LHP Will Solomon (4-1, 3.01 ERA).

Wednesday night's matchup is sponsored by the United States Marines. There will be a special pre-game ceremony with a group of new recruits being sworn in and a color guard presentation before the national anthem! Gates open at 6:00 PM with first pitch at 7:05 PM.

• Discuss this story on the Northwoods League message board...

Northwoods League Stories from July 20, 2017


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central