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Goldeyes Win Rubber Game

Sioux City, IA  - At first it seemed as though the Winnipeg Goldeyes would win a lopsided ball game to finish the season series, but the Explorers fought back valiantly on a humid night from Sioux City to make it another close ending, losing 9-7 to the Fish. 

Winnipeg again got off to a fast start, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. The Goldeyes scored in the first inning in all three games in the series totaling nine runs. 

The four runs were scored off of Taylor Jordan (3-5) who was only able to record two outs before leaving the game due to being over heated. The runs scored on Jordan broke a streak of 20 scoreless innings hurled by the former big leaguer. Jordan allowed four runs on four hits and walked two in his brief start. 

The X’s got the first of two Michael Lang homers in the home half of the first. The solo blast made it 4-1 Winnipeg. 

From there the Goldeyes scored four unanswered runs to open up a seven run lead. A Willy Garcia home run lead off the third to make it 5-1. The Fish added two more in the fourth on a double from Kyle Martin and a sacrifice fly from Alex Perez. And a home run by Dominic Ficociello, the second of the series for the Winnipeg third baseman made it 8-1 Goldeyes. 

The Explorers could have packed their bags and went home at that point down 8-1 in the fifth but instead chose to fight back. In the half inning after Winnipeg took the seven run lead the X’s got an RBI double from Kyle Wren to add a run to the board. And then Michael Lang unloaded on a pitch for his second homer of the night and fifth of the season. The three run shot made it a ball game again at 8-5. 

Sioux City kept the foot on the gas pedal in the following inning as Drew Stankiewicz and Sebastian Zawada collected back to back doubles closing the gap to two runs. And with two outs in the inning Wren tripled to deep center field scoring Zawada and making it a one run ball game. Lang came to the plate with the tying run at third base but was unable to score Wren, grounding out to third to end the inning against Brandon Bingel. 

Bingel received the hold as he tossed an inning and two thirds, not allowing a base runner and striking out three. Bingel stopped the bleeding for Winnipeg and his brief time on the mound marked the turning point of the game as the X’s would never have a better chance at tying the game than they did at the end of the sixth. 

Winnipeg added an insurance run in the ninth in a two out double by Perez to make it 9-7. And Victor Cappellan picked up his league leading 14th save of the season with a scoreless ninth. 

The game marked the final time that these two would face each other in the 2019 regular season with Winnipeg taking the season series 5-2. All but one game was decided by more than two runs and five of them were one run contests. 

Sioux City now a half game out of first place in the south division will hit the road for a brief three game, weekend, series against the Lincoln Saltdogs beginning on Friday at 7:05 pm with Jason Garcia on the mound for game one at Haymarket Park.