Sioux City-----St. Paul scored five runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Explorers here Saturday 7-6. With the Explorers leading 6-2 going into the eighth inning, the Saints had four consecutive singles and cut the X's lead to 6-4. After Ronnie Bourquin hit into a double play, the Saints had two more hits and an Explorer error to take the lead 7-6.
The five runs came off losing pitcher Chris Bodishbaugh (5-2) working in relief. The Explorers had taken a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but St. Paul tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third. The Explorers regained the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the third on a two-out RBI single by Kris Sanchez. In the fourth inning, the Explorers added two more runs on RBI's by Mike Murphy and Brandon Newton and the X's led 4-1. Ole Sheldon led off the sixth inning with his 15th home run of the season to cut the Explorers lead to 4-2. However, in the bottom of the sixth Murphy drove home two more runs and the Explorers were off and running with a 6-2 lead.
That lasted until the eighth inning when the Saints scored five time to take a 7-6 lead as St. Paul won their seventh straight game while the Explorers have now lost four of their last five contests. The third game of the four-game series will be played Sunday starting at 6:05 at Lewis and Clark Park.
