FARGO, N.D. — The Sioux Falls Canaries dropped a tough rubber game to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 8-6 Thursday night at Newman Outdoor Field.

Andrew Ely hit two home runs for the Birds in the defeat. Logan Landon hit an RBI double to extend his hitting streak to 21 games. The Birds committed four errors, tying their season high.

Sioux Falls jumped out to an early lead against Fargo-Moorhead starter Bradin Hagens. Ely’s first homer, a solo shot, put the Birds on top two batters into the game. The RedHawks tied the score in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double from Drew Ward.

Mike Hart hit a two-run homer in the top of the second to give the Canaries a 3-1 edge in the top of the second, his seventh of the season.

Fargo-Moorhead scored four runs of Birds starter Eddie Medina in the third inning. With runners on first and second and none out, Drew Ward hit a single to right. Clint Coulter made a fielding error on the play, allowing Brennan Metzger to score from second and make it 3-2. A sacrifice fly from Correlle Prime scored Forrestt Allday to tie the score.

The next batter, Leobaldo Piña, delivered an inside-the-park home run to right center field, giving the RedHawks a 5-3 lead.

Medina allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits over three innings of work in his Canaries debut. He walked one and struck out five.

Brennan Metzger gave the RedHawks a 6-3 edge with an RBI single in the fourth, and Landon got the run back for the Birds with his RBI double in the top of the fifth.

Piña hit a conventional solo homer in the bottom of the fifth, and a Canaries fielding error by third baseman Damek Tomscha extended the RedHawks lead to 8-4.

That was the score heading into the ninth. Ely’s second homer of the game, a two-run shot off Tyler Wilson with two out, brought the game to its final score.

The Birds remain in a playoff spot despite the defeat, with a 2.5-game lead on second place in the American Association.

UP NEXT

The Canaries return home for a weekend series against the Chicago Dogs, starting with Sioux Falls Pride Night on Friday at 7:05 p.m., when the Birds will celebrate Sioux Falls’ LGBTQ+ community. Birds fans can find special discounted tickets at bit.ly/pridecanaries.

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By Carter Woodiel, Sioux Falls Canaries