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AA Sioux Falls Canaries

Bolden's Five-Hit Night Leads Pheasants to Victory

August 16, 2012 - American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release


SIOUX FALLS - Jared Bolden has played nearly 500 professional baseball games, but until Wednesday night he had never had more than four hits in a game.

That changed with an infield single in the eighth inning, capping a perfect 5-for-5 night that led the Sioux Falls Pheasants to an 11-7 comeback defeat of the Laredo Lemurs at Sioux Falls Stadium.

Along with three singles, Bolden had a double, a home run and scored three times to become just the 16th man in team history to notch five or more hits in a game.

With the Pheasants down 4-2, Bolden started a four-run rally in the fifth inning with a solo home run, his third hit of the night. Cesar Nicolas' double, Cristian Guerrero's single and Joe Anthonsen's single each brought home a run to give the Pheasants a 6-4 lead.

"It seemed like we were playing with some energy once we got up," said Pheasants manager Steve Shirley. "There was a timeframe in the fourth inning that we started feeling like we were going to pull this one out."

Laredo began the game with an early lead. Palmer Karr Jr.'s single plated one run, and Brito's sacrifice fly put the Lemurs up 2-0 in the first inning.

Sioux Falls got on the board in the second inning when Laredo starter Osvaldo Rodriguez (3-5) walked Joe Anthonsen with the bases loaded, closing the gap to 2-1.

With the wind howling out, Laredo answered in the third inning with back-to-back solo home runs from Karr and John Allen for a 4-1 advantage.

Jake Taylor blasted a leadoff home run in the third to shave the lead to 4-2.

After giving up the home runs, Pheasants starter Mitchell Clegg (7-5) seemed to turn on a switch, retiring the next 13 batters and 15 of the final 16 he faced on his way to earning the win.

"I obviously didn't come out there throwing lights out, but I knew once we got it back into it, I had to make my adjustments to keep us in the game," said Clegg. "The biggest focus was to keep the ball down. Anything up on a night like this meant the ball would fly."

Nicolas added his second RBI in the sixth inning, blooping a single that scored Bolden to extend the lead to 7-4. Nicolas finished hitting 2-for-3 with two RBI. He raised his average to .351, third best in the American Association.

Rodriguez (3-5) exited after the sixth inning. The Pheasants tallied seven runs on 11 hits against him. He struck out five and walked three, suffering the loss.

The Pheasants padded their lead in the eighth inning. Guerrero slapped a two-run single, and Al Quintana's double also plated two runs for an 11-4 advantage.

Clegg exited after the eighth inning. Overall he allowed four runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out four.

The Lemurs tallied three in the ninth on a walk and three hits before Pheasants reliever Dusty Gober recorded the final out.

Seven Pheasants' batters had multiple hits. Bolden was the first Sioux Falls hitter with five hits since teammate Trevor Lawhorn did so on July 3, 2010, at Sioux City.

The finale of the three-game series against Laredo is at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, August 16 at Sioux Falls Stadium. It's the last "Throwback Thursday." Fans wearing their favorite Sioux Falls baseball gear get a ticket for just $5 while we pay tribute to 20 years of baseball in Sioux Falls! Plus, domestic draft beer is just $2.50! It's also the last chance to redeem Pheasants Reading Club tickets.

"Kids FREE" also continues. Two children 12-and-under are free with the purchase of an adult ticket ($12 seating) thanks to Sanford Children's.

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