Pheasants double up Sioux City
Published on July 1, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release
SIOUX FALLS- It was a record evening for the Sioux Falls Pheasants.
The Birds did it all on Friday, with plenty of offense, solid pitching and stellar defense in their 8-4 win over the Sioux City Explorers in front of a season-high 2,389 fans at Sioux Falls Stadium.
The Pheasants (21-26) took the final three games to win the I-29 series.
Starter Barry Fowler (3-1) was efficient in earning the win, pitching seven innings while giving up four runs on six hits on just 80 pitches. Fowler got plenty of help from the defense, which tied a team record and league record with five double plays in the game.
The offense smacked around Explorers starter Jason Jarvis (0-1) for seven runs in the first four innings and never looked back. Eight starters had hits while belting out seven doubles in the game.
"I thought the guys played well tonight," said manager Steve Shirley. "We played hard all the way through, got some excellent pitching from Fowler and got some big hits when we needed them. All around, we did pretty well."
The Explorers took an early lead in the first. After hitting lead-off man Dustin Jones, Fowler gave up two straight singles to Wally Backman and Tyler Goodro to score the first Sioux City run. Fowler buckled down, as Kent Sakamoto grounded into a double play and Ray Serrano followed with a fly out to end the jam.
The Pheasants responded in the bottom half. Four consecutive one-out hits, including doubles by Trevor Lawhorn and Brandon Sing, scored the first two runs for Sioux Falls. Francisco Leandro grounded out to score Mark Shorey, giving the Pheasants a 3-1 lead.
Sioux City tied the game in the fourth when Sakamoto blasted a two-run home run over the center field wall.
The Birds wasted little time to retake the lead, batting around in the bottom of the fourth. The first three hitters reached, including Henry Contreras on the back end of back-to-back doubles to drive in Leandro and Reggie Abercrombie for a 5-3 lead. Joe Anthonsen later singled to bring home Contreras, and Gus Milner drove in Anthonsen, extending Sioux Falls' lead to 7-3.
Contreras added an RBI double in the fifth, his second of the game. The catcher finished with three RBI.
Sioux City's Brett Flowers hit a solo homer in the seventh, the first hit off of Fowler since the fourth-inning home run by Sakamoto.
"[Fowler] is a movement guy," Shirley said. "He likes to throw a lot of sinkers, sliders and curveballs and get groundballs, and he was successful out there tonight."
Pheasants reliever Dan McDaniel pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Goodro and Brian Bistagne each had two hits to lead Sioux City.
The Pheasants travel to Gary SouthShore to take on the RailCats in the first of four-game series at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday, July 2. The game will be broadcast live on Sioux Falls Sports Radio 1230-AM KWSN and online at www.kwsn.com.
American Association Stories from July 1, 2011
- Kansas City Takes Slugfest in Wichita, 11-8 - Kansas City Monarchs
- Wingnuts Beaten Again by Early Big Inning - Wichita Wingnuts
- Captains Score Five in Ninth For 6-5 Walkoff Win Over Sox - Shreveport-Bossier Captains
- Pheasants double up Sioux City - Sioux Falls Canaries
- Explorers Will Go To Bat For Flood Relief - Sioux City Explorers
- RailCats Look to Continue Winning Ways at U. S. Steel Yard - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Saints Mudonna to Run Twin Cities Marathon, Try to Break Record - St. Paul Saints
- Alberts, Villarreal Named June Players Of The Month - AA
- Tim Alberts named Rawlings Batter of the Month - Amarillo ThunderHeads
- Villarreal Claims Pitcher of the Month Award - Winnipeg Goldeyes
- Pheasants Take Game 3, Series Finale Tonight in Sf - Sioux City Explorers
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