They say that all good things come to an end, and the St. Paul Saints got to see the reality of that statement Sunday night. After setting a club record for consecutive home victories (10) Saturday night, the team got clubbed by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on Sunday to the tune of a 14-6 loss. The RedHawks belted out 14-hits, getting 3-hits, 3-runs and 4-RBI from K.D. Kang to take the final game of the three-game set with the Saints.

John Straka started for St. Paul and he had looked absolutely brilliant in his last two starts, but this was not going to be the right-hander’s night. In the top of the first, Ryan Pineda doubled with one out and Keury De La Cruz followed with a single to put runners at the corners with one out. Straka struck out Josh Mazzola, but Kang followed with a blast over the right field wall for his 10th homer of the year to make it 3-0. Dustin Geiger was the next hitter, and he blasted the very next pitch for his third homer of the season to extend the lead to four.

Fargo-Moorhead added single runs in the next two innings. In the second, Ryan Wagner doubled to start the inning and moved to second on an error. Kes Carter’s sacrifice fly scored Wagner. In the top of third, Kang took a 1-1 pitch for Straka and drilled it for his 11th homerun of the year. That made it 6-0.

It would remain that way for the next three innings, but in the seventh inning, each team plated four-runs. Alec Crawford took over for Straka and Pineda got another rally started when he drew a one-out walk. De La Cruz followed with his eighth homer of the year to extend the lead to eight. A double by Kang two batters later kept the inning alive and Geiger then drilled his second homerun of the game and fourth of the year to make it 10-0. That gave the RedHawks five homeruns on the evening.

In the bottom half of the inning, The Saints plated their four-runs. Newcomer Trever Adams tripled to start the inning and Tony Caldwell walked to put runners at the corners with no one out. Aaron Gretz then ripped a base hit to right that scored Adams and moved Caldwell to third. Taylor Stanton, who had pitched six shutout innings to start the contest, was relieved by Will Mathis, but he could not stop the bleeding.

Willie Argo doubled to score Caldwell and Alonzo Harris walked to load the bases with two outs. A walk to Tony Thomas drove in Gretz and, once again, Fargo-Moorhead turned to the bullpen, this time for Patrick Mincey. He walked Nate Hanson to score Argo and it was 10-4.

In the top of the eighth, it was the long ball that would extend the RedHawks lead. Bryan Johns singled with one out, and Carter followed with his sixth homer of the year, and the team’s sixth shot of the night.

In the ninth, both teams plated two-runs. Wagner’s double scored two in the top half of the inning, and Harris and Hanson each drove home a run in the bottom of the ninth. That made for the final of 14-6.

Stanton (4-4) earned the victory to even his record. Straka (7-3) took the loss. Kang finished 3-5 with 3-runs, 2-HR, and 4-RBI. Geiger was 2-5 with 2-runs, 2-HR and 3-RBI.

The St. Paul Saints now move onto Winnipeg to start a three-game series with the Goldeyes Monday night. Robert Coe (7-1, 3.44) goes for the Saints against Kevin McGovern (3-1, 4.26). First pitch is 7:00.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier