St. Paul, Minn. -- After falling to the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks 4-2 on Friday night, the St. Paul Saints were in need of a win, and they got it thanks to a three-run eighth inning to boost them to victory.
The Redhawks got the scoring started, as in the second inning Josh Mazzola led off with a double. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Charlie Valerio singled to left field to put Fargo up early.
Saints and Redhawks trade runs
The Saints responded in the fourth in a big way, as Trever Adams led off with a walk. Willie Argo then stepped up and hit a two-run home run to left field to give the Saints the 2-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Saints, that lead did not hold, as in the top of the sixth the Redhawks got a one-out walk from Mazzola.
He scored when Dustin Geiger doubled to left-center field to tie the game. They took the lead when former Saint Mike Gilmartin singled to right field to score Geiger and put Fargo up 3-2.
That was the score entering the bottom of the eighth inning when the Saints began their comeback. It all started when Adams drew a one-out walk. Argo followed with a walk of his own, and both of them scored when Tony Caldwell doubled off the right-center field wall to put the Saints back in the lead.
Aaron Gretz than stepped up to the plate and singled to right field to score Caldwell and extend the lead to 5-3. Tanner Vavra also singled, but both him and Gretz were stranded when Alonzo Harris and Breland Almadova both flew out to left field to end the inning.
For the ninth inning, the Saints brought in closer Ryan Rodebaugh, who got Gilmartin to fly out to right for the first out. After Ryan Wagner grounded out to second base, Kes Carter grounded out to first baseman Dan Johnson to end the game and give the Saints the come from behind victory.
Quick Hits
- The Saints record now improves to 49-23 but did not extend their lead in the division as the Winnipeg Goldeyes also won, keeping the margin at seven games.
- Prior to the game, the Saints made a roster move, as they placed Angelo Songco on the inactive list and signed Bryson Myles, who was a 2011 draft pick of the Cleveland Indians who most recently split time between their Double-A and Triple-A teams, batting .231 with 10 doubles so far this season. "He's a good player," Manager George Tsamis said after the game. "He'll be in the lineup on Monday and we'll see what he can do."
- After a rare Sunday off day, the Saints will be back in action on Monday night when they travel to Gary to take on the Railcats. Fargo meanwhile also have Sunday off before returning home to take on the Wichita Wingnuts.
Win - Caleb Thielbar (4-1)
Loss - Roman Madrid (1-1)
Save - Ryan Rodebaugh (20)
Player of the game: Tony Caldwell (STP). Went 2-4 with go-ahead double in the eighth inning to lead the Saints to the victory.