712.277.WINS (9467)

BOX SCORE

St. Paul, MN-The Explorers scored five runs in the first and broke a tie with four more in the fourth for a 9-7 series-clinching victory against the Saints Sunday afternoon at Midway Stadium.

Sioux City (36-45) has now won three straight and closed its season series with St. Paul at 3-7. The Saints (44-34) are 4-6 in their last ten games and fell three behind North Division first-place Winnipeg.

The Explorers scored six times in the ninth inning Saturday, and wasted little time Sunday with yet another big inning. A one-out single put Tim Colwell on base. After a fly-out, Andres Perez and Peter Barrows (pictured) both walked to load the bases. Tom Mendonca then singled and drove in Colwell and Perez for a 2-0 lead. Amos Ramon followed with a double that plated Barrows and moved Mendonca to third. A Dillon Usiak base knock scored two more as Mendonca and Ramon came home for a 5-0 advantage.

St. Paul had an offensive outburst of its own in the third. Dwight Childs led off the inning with a double. Devin Thaut singled. A sacrifice fly out to right by Jared McDonald gave the Saints their first run. With one out, Willie Cabrera walked. Thaut then scored on a Henry Wrigley base hit and it was 5-2. Angelo Songco walked to load the bases. A sac fly by Evan Bigley drove in Cabrera for the third run. Back-to-back singles from Keith Brachold and Joey Becker tied the game at 5-5.

Right around the corner, the Explorers reclaimed the lead with a four-run fourth. Michael Lang led off the inning with a single, and moved to third on an Oscar Mesa single. A sacrifice fly by Tim Colwell gave the X’s the lead back as Lang scored. Mesa was erased from the bases on a caught stealing. With two outs, Rene Tosoni walked and Andres Perez reached on an infield error. Peter Barrows then socked his second home run of the series and 11^th of the season for a 9-5 cushion. The Saints added two runs in the bottom of the fourth but never scored again.

Sioux City reliever Alex Burnett picked up his second win of the series. Burnett (6-1) pitched three-and-a-third scoreless innings and gave up four hits with two strikeouts and no walks. Drew Gay suffered his first loss of the season for St. Paul. Gay (5-1) went four innings and allowed nine runs (six earned) on eight hits with no strikeouts and three walks. X’s closer Chris Bodishbaugh pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 11^th save of the season.

Amos Ramon led the Explorers with a two-hit day. Ramon scored once and drove in a run. Peter Barrows went 1-for-3 with the homer, two runs, and three RBIs. Barrows has a new career high in RBIs at 57. Tom Mendonca and Dillon Usiak each had a hit and two RBIs. For the Saints, Joey Becker was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Devin Thaut, Willie Cabrera, and Henry Wrigley all collected three hits. Wrigley also drove in two. The Saints outhit the X’s 13-8, but left ten men on base.     

Sioux City continues its seven-game road trip Monday night in Gary, Indiana with the first of three against the SouthShore RailCats. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 at U.S. Steel Yard. After the series at Gary, the Explorers return home to face Lincoln on Thursday, August 14^th. For ticket information and promotion specials at Lewis & Clark Park, call 712-277-WINS or visit the Explorers website at www.xsbaseball.com.