Saints hold off Fargo-Moorhead

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

FAIRFAX -- Morgan Walker went 2-for-4 with a first-inning RBI single and a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning as the St. Paul Saints clipped the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks 3-2 in exhibition baseball at Memorial Park in Fairfax.

The game benefited the Dana Kiecker Scholarship Fund and was played before an overflow crowd.

Graham Mazur, the third of seven Saint pitchers, was credited with the win while the loss went to Travis Jones

The Redhawks outhit the Saints 7-3 in the game.

Randy Ballard picked up the save for the Saints, fanning Peter Prodanov to end the game with Marc Fink, the potential tying run, on second base. Fink had doubled just prior to Prodanov's at-bat.

The Saints would push a run across in the bottom of the first on a pefect night for baseball when Ryan Ruiz coaxed a one-out walk off Redhawk starter Josh Bradford. He swiped second and a John Toven groundout allowed him to scamper to third.

He scored on a Walker soft liner to centerfield.

St. Paul would add a second run in the third inning without the benefit of hitting the ball out of the infield.

Ramon Valera walked to start the inning and an Eric Perkins groundout (yes, KARE's Eric Perkins) moved Valera to second. Ruiz's groundout to first moved Valera to third before he scored on a Toven infield single.

The Redhawks would threaten in the top of the fourth as Dalphie Correa led off with a single and took second on a wild pitch.

But Mazur, who followed former major league pitcher Bob Milacki in the fourth inning, retired the next hitter on a pop-out before fanning Rick Freeman and Eddie Rivero to end the threat.

That gave a little bit of spark to the Saints as Walker led off the bottom of the inning by belting a home run over the fence in rightfield for a 3-0 lead.

Fargo-Moorhead would plate an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning. Rick Nadeau was safe on a throwing error and raced to second on Fink's groundout to third.

Prodanov brought home Nadeau with a base hit to leftfield.

Correa's one-out double in the eighth preceeded a two-out error by John Toven at second that allowed Correa to cross the plate.

FAR-MOOR 000 010 010 -- 2 7 1

ST. PAUL 101 100 00x -- 3 3 2

WP--Mazur, LP--Jones. 2B--Correa (FM). HR--Walker (SP).