Historical Night for Mann Ends in 8-3 'Hawks Win
Published on September 3, 2015 under American Association (AA)
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks News Release
FARGO, ND - On a historical night for Brandon Mann the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks took game two 8-3 from the New Jersey Jackals before 3,264 onlookers at Newman Outdoor Field on Wednesday night in Fargo.
The Jackals got to the left-hander Mann right away in the first. Anthony Gomez doubled down the left field line and would be driven in two batters later by Leandro Castro making it 1-0.
After New Jersey's Gabriel Perez retired the 'Hawks in order in the first Fargo-Moorhead pounded the right-hander in the second. The RedHawks utilized four consecutive singles, the third being a two RBI Charlie Valerio base hit, to put a pair of runs on the board and grab the lead 2-1.
After a shaky first two frames Mann began to cruise on the mound. He retired eight batters in a row from the last out in the second inning through the fifth when Tony Caldwell singled to right-center.
The history maker came in the fourth inning. Castro led off the inning for New Jersey, facing a pitcher just one punch out from breaking the American Association single season strikeout record. Mann got Castro swinging for his 145th strikeout of the season, passing Ben Moore who set the feat in 2011 as a member of the Sioux Falls Canaries.
Mann would roll along until the sixth when an RBI single from Castro tied the game 2-2.
Fargo-Moorhead would reclaim the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Zach Penprase sliced a triple off the right field wall scoring Pineda who led off with a single and would proceed to tag home on a Drew Muren sac fly making it 4-2.
The wheels fell off the tracks in the eighth for the Jackals. Donnie Joseph came on in relief and surrendered back-to-back walks followed by a Michael Wing single loading the bases. Michael Leach then hit a ground ball to third and reached on a fielding error that scored Dunigan and Valerio. Penprase stepped up to the dish next and knocked a base hit to left-center plating two and pushing the lead to 8-2.
Mike Nesseth came on for the ninth and allowed a run on a Jared Schlehuber double but the run would prove insignificant as the 'Hawks went on to win by an 8-3 final.
On his historical night, Mann (7-9) earned the win going seven strong innings while allowing two runs on seven hits with a pair of walks yielded and seven strikeouts. Perez (1-2) took the loss for the Jackals after giving up four runs on nine hits with six strikeouts in seven innings of work.
After the game Mann admitted his shaky start was in anticipation of achieving the record saying, "I wanted the record, honestly. I pressed a little bit, it made my best pitch bad tonight. I was able to get two that first inning and it calmed me down." After the record breaking strikeout he went on to retire six straight and remarked how it was a relief of sorts, "I got back to pitching (after achieving the record). I got back to not worrying about strikeouts. I wanted to go out and pitch and let my teammates help me out."
For a player who contemplated retiring from the game coming into this season, Mann feels a sense of pride regarding the achievement, "I've played a long time. It's reassuring that coming back this season was worth it and obviously it helps back my belief that my stuff is still playable."
Mann will get one more shot to add to his league record as he is slated to start on the final game of the season versus Amarillo. He now has 147 on the season.
Zach Penprase had a big night at the dish for Fargo-Moorhead. The tenured shortstop came up with some timely hitting in the seventh and eighth innings and finished the night 2-for-5 with a run scored and three batted in.
With the win, Fargo-Moorhead improves to 41-54 while New Jersey slips to 52-40. The RedHawks will send Ty Kelley to the mound in game three of the four game set. First pitch is set for 7:02 with a 6:40 pre-game show on 740 AM The Fan with Scott Miller behind the microphone.
American Association Stories from September 3, 2015
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- Historical Night for Mann Ends in 8-3 'Hawks Win - Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
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