Ok, maybe Ryan Pineda doesn’t swing a broom, but he sure knows how to lead his team to a sweep, as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks second baseman homered in each contest of this three-games series to lead his team to a sweep of the Salina Stockade. Kes Carter joined Pineda in going deep, and the RedHawks got seven shutout innings out of Dylan Mouzakes in the 5-2 victory.

Fargo-Moorhead took the lead in this contest in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Derrick Fox started the inning by drawing a walk against Joe Robinson, stole second and moved to third on an infield single by Mitch Delfino. Josh Mazzola walked to load the bases, but Robinson looked like he was going to wiggle out of the inning when he got two pop ups to keep the bases loaded. However, he walked Charlie Valerio to drive in a run and it was 1-0.

From there, it was a great pitchers’ duel between Robinson and Mouzakes. The RedHawks starter was in complete command, allowing only 2-hits through the first 5-innings of the game. Robinson was also pitching well. He allowed a runner to reach third in the fourth on two wild pitches, but got a shallow fly out before striking out Delfino to end the inning.

The Stockade starter came out of the game with one down in the fifth, and Connor Bach came on. He looked good in his first inning of work, but the longball would be his demise in the sixth. He walked Valerio to start the inning, but Jesse Baker threw the runner out trying to steal before Yhoxian Medina struck out. That brought Kes Carter to the plate, who drilled his second homer of the season. Next up was Pineda, who also homered, his fourth of the year and it was 3-0.

In the seventh, the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks extended their lead to five. With Taylor Thurber on the hill, Mazzola walked and scored on a double by K.D. Kang. Thurber retired the next two hitters, but a single by Carter drove home Kang to make it 5-0.

Dylan Mouzakes (2-0) came out after 7-innings. He allowed 3-hits and 2-walks with no runs scoring against him. He also struck out 5. Tyler Thompson walked two in the eighth, but kept the shutout intact before his afternoon was over.

In the ninth, Casey Weathers relieved and the Salina Stockade finally got on the board. Daniel Aldrich greeted the reliever with a single and moved to second on a single by Jordan Caillouet. Jesse Baker followed with a base hit to load the bases and Steven Taft singled to drive home Aldrich. It was now 5-1 with the tying run at the plate. Brad Cuyos grounded to third for the first out of the inning, but everyone moved up 90-feet, scoring Caillouet. Weathers was on the ropes, but he remained calm, getting Joey Miller to fly out before striking out Roche Woodard to end the game.

Ryan Pineda went 1-3 with a homer, run, and RBI. He went 3-9 in the series with 3-home runs. Kes Carter was 2-3 with a run, homer, and RBI. Jesse Baker went 2-4 for Salina.

The Stockade have the weekend off before taking on the Wichita Wingnuts in a four-game series starting Monday night. First pitch is 7:05.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier