St. Paul, Minn. -- The Sioux Falls Canaries avoided getting swept by division rivals St. Paul on Sunday afternoon thanks to a nine-run fifth inning that saw Saints starter Jeff Shields get chased in his return to the Saints.

St. Paul scores first

The Saints actually got on the board first when Brady Burzynski singled to right field. He moved up a base when Bryson Myles was hit by a pitch. They both advanced when Tony Thomas hit a sacrifice bunt to put runners on first and second for Dan Johnson, who singled to right field to score Burzynski and move the other runners up a base. The inning ended when Nate Hanson hit into a double play.

Sioux Falls tied the game in the second inning when Cameron Monger hit a two-out double. He scored when B.J. Guinn doubled to center field, but no other runs scored as Aaron Owen struck out swinging to end the inning.

Tony Caldwell led off the Saints half of the second with a single to shortstop. He advanced to third when Aaron Gretz singled, and scored when Sam Maus hit a sacrifice fly to center field for the second out of the inning.

Sam Maus makes a throw. (Betsy Bissen/St. Paul Saints

The score remained at 2-1 until the fifth inning when the Canaries put up nine runs off Shields, including back-to-back home runs to David Bergin and Monger. The Saints were able to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, as Burzynski singled, and was replaced by Alonzo Harris. He advanced to third when Bryson Myles hit a ground-rule-double, and scored when Johnson grounded out to first base.

From there, the Canaries held the Saints at bay, as they got a run in the seventh but that was all the Saints came away with. The win was a big one for Sioux Falls, as they avoided being swept by the Saints.

Quick Hits

- The Saints now head to Canada for a series with the Winnipeg Goldeyes. They will play a doubleheader on Monday night, with the first game being a resumption of an earlier game that was rained out, which will be followed by  the regularly scheduled game. They will be in Winnipeg through Thursday, then will travel to Fargo to face the Redhawks.

- Hanson was held hitless for the first time in the series, as it was his first series back after his wife had a baby.

- Shields ended up going just five innings in his return, giving up eleven hits and ten runs while getting just three strikeouts. He ended up taking the loss.

Win - Dylan Thompson (3-1)

Loss - Jeff Shields (2-2)

Save - None

Player of the game - David Bergin (SF) Hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to help the Canaries put up nine runs in the frame.

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About the author
Stevie Larson
NASCAR Editor, Minnesota sports fan. Contact: [email protected]