AA Sioux Falls Canaries

Harris single ends wild opening day in victory

Published on May 14, 2009 under American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release


Sioux Falls, SD - Cory Harris singled through the right side to give the Sioux Falls Canaries (1-0) a 13-12 extra inning win over the St. Paul Saints (0-1) on a wild opening day at Sioux Falls Stadium.

The Harris single came just two batters after home plate umpire Ron Teague was knocked unconscious by a wild pitch from Saints reliever Mike Bille. The game finished without Teague, who was responsive and alert while being carted off the field and taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. The injury was just one part of a wild opening day that saw three comebacks lead to an extra inning of baseball.

St. Paul opened the game with three runs in the top of the first inning. With two on and two out, Brent Krause singled to score Ole Sheldon for the game's opening run. During the play, Paul Smyth's relay throw to third base sailed into left field, allowing both Craig Brazell and Krause to score. After a half inning, the Saints led 3-0.

The Canaries provided the game's first comeback, roaring from behind with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Joe Anthonsen started the inning with a single and scored on a double by J.D. Reininger. Reininger then scored on a double by Beau Torbert, cutting the Saints lead to one, 3-2. Later in the inning, Paul Smyth delivered a two-out double to score both Torbert and Patrick Reilly, giving the Canaries a 4-3 lead.

The Birds extended their lead over the next five innings. Reininger hit a second inning sacrifice fly to score Anthonsen. Reilly hit the Canaries first home run of the season, a solo shot, in the third inning, and Cory Harris hit his first home run of the game in the fifth inning. Even when St. Paul scored twice in the top of the sixth inning, the Canaries were able to further widen the lead by scoring three in the bottom of the inning, including two on Harris' second homer of the game. After six innings the Canaries led, 10-5.

Then it was the Saints turn to storm back. After scoring two runs in the seventh, Jeff DeSmidt delivered a three-run home run as part of a four-run ninth, and gave the Saints an 11-10 lead. St. Paul added one more on a Craig Brazell home run in the ninth.

Trailing 12-10 in the bottom of the ninth, the Canaries staged another comeback. With Ben Van Iderstine on first base and two outs, Patrick Reilly and Paul Smyth delivered back-to-back doubles to tie the game, 12-12.

In the top of the tenth inning, Ron Fenwick came up with a two-out single to set the stage for a potential Saints run. Ole Sheldon followed with a fly ball to shallow right field that was dropped by Ben Van Iderstine. The error would not be costly, as Van Iderstine recovered and threw home to catch Fenwick hung up between third and the plate. As Fenwick tried to scramble back to third, Paul Smyth fired the ball to Trevor Lawhorn who applied the tag, and ended the Saints chance to score.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Joe Anthonsen singled. He advanced to second base on the wild pitch that injured Teague. After a 22 minute delay as Teague was attended to by medical personnel, Anthonsen advanced to third on a wild pitch that occurred as the Saints were intentionally walking Beau Torbert. With runners on the corners and one out, Harris singled to score Anthonsen for the game winning run.

Ryan Ford started for the Canaries, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing five runs, three earned on six hits. While he left the game in a position to win, the Saints comeback forced him to settle for a no decision. Kris Regas (1-0) picked up the win by pitching the 10th inning in relief. Saints starting pitcher Charlie Ruud left the game after just two innings of work, and Bille (0-1) suffered the loss for St. Paul.

The Canaries and Saints will continue their opening weekend series with a Friday night game at 7:05 p.m. The game will feature Friday Night Fireworks presented by Sanford Health.

Check out the Sioux Falls Canaries Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Association Stories from May 14, 2009


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