FARGO, N.D.  –  After scoring a combined 23 runs in the first two games of their series, the Chicago Dogs and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks met in the series finale at Newman Outdoor Field on a cold Thursday night in Fargo. RHP Garrett Christman and the Dogs limited the RedHawks to only one run on five hits and held on to win 5-1 in front of 1593 fans.

Danny Mars and Johnny Adams hit solo home runs in the first and fourth innings, respectively, for the Dogs. The RedHawks’ only run came on a Manuel Boscan RBI groundout that drove in Nick Shumpert in the third inning.

The RedHawks used four pitchers in relief in Thursday night’s game, and the five pitchers total combined for five runs on six hits and five walks. In the eighth inning, relief pitchers Blake Rogers and Nathan Foriest gave up three runs on three wild pitches to increase the Chicago lead to 5-1. Starter Bret Helton (1-1, 3.00 ERA) got the loss despite keeping the RedHawks in the game. He pitched 6.0 innings while only allowing two runs on four hits and striking out five in his second start of the season.

Coming into the game as the best hitting team in the American Association, the RedHawks only mustered five hits in 28 at-bats and only had two real threats in the game. In the 3rd inning, Nick Shumpert was brought around with sacrifices by Austin Ver Steeg and the groundout by Manuel Boscan after he hit a lead-off double off of Garrett Christman. It was Ver Steeg’s first ever professional plate appearance. In the sixth inning, the RedHawks had runners on second and third base with one out trailing 2-1, but Correlle Prime hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and the scoring threat.

After Christman, who was given the win in the contest, left the game in the seventh inning, Chicago turned to relievers Juan Echevarria and Kevin Marnon to close out the game. Echevarria allowed one hit in the seventh before Marnon struck out five of the six batters he faced in the final two frames to seal the victory for the Dogs. Marnon is now 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched this season.

The RedHawks will open up a three-game set against the Houston Apollos on Friday night at Newman Outdoor Field. The two teams have not met before — Houston is a Pecos League team playing as a traveling team in the 2021 American Association regular season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. with fireworks to follow the conclusion of the game. For ticket information and the RedHawks’ promotional schedule, visit fmredhawks.com.

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By Chad Ekren, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks