FARGO, ND- T-Bones starter Nick Singleton pitched seven innings without allowing an earned run, and the Kansas City T-Bones opened a four-game series at Newman Outdoor Field with a 4-3 victory over the RedHawks in front of 2,674 fans on Monday night.
The right-hander from Montgomery, Alabama gave up one unearned run on two hits in the bottom of the first inning.
The RedHawks’ run scored on a two-out RBI single to center by catcher Ryan Delgado. Singleton (3-1) wouldn’t allow another run over the course of the next six innings.
At one point, between the second and fifth innings, the righty retired eight straight hitters, including perfect 1-2-3 third and fourth innings.
Over his seven innings of work, Singleton gave up five hits, one run (unearned), walked one and struck out five. He threw 112 pitches while picking up the win.
KC did the bulk of its offensive work in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on three hits, one walk, and two sacrifice flies.
The T-Bones tacked on an insurance run in the top of the 9th on a swinging bunt RBI single by Jose Duran with the bases loaded, making the score 4-1. That insurance would prove necessary as KC attempted to slam the door in the bottom half.
Right-hander and Liberty, MO native Lucas Irvine entered to pitch in the 9th. He struck out Carlo Cota on three pitches for the first out, but then things got interesting.
Buddy Sosnoskie singled to left-center, then Enrique Cruz hit a sharp grounder to T-Bones third baseman Devin Goodwin. Goodwin, sensing the opportunity to end the game on a 5-4-3 double play, flipped a quick and accurate throw to Fronk at second.
Unfortunately, Fronk dropped the throw, allowing Sosnoskie to reach second and Cruz to reach first. Ryan Stovall followed with an RBI single, making the score 4-2.
Former T-Bones outfielder Aharon Eggleston was up next and hit a comebacker to Irvine.
He made a backhand stop on top of the mound and skipped the throw to second where shortstop Jose Duran made a great scoop to finish the 1-6 forceout of Stovall. Cruz scored from third to make it 4-3.
Eggleston then stole second, barely beating the throw from catcher Trevor Coleman to the bag. Zach Penprase followed with a walk, putting men on first and second with two outs. Slugger Nick Jackson then stepped in and hit a hard ground ball down the first base line.
T-Bones first baseman Justin Bass made a nice backhand pickup and took the ball to the bag himself, closing out the game.
The 4-3 victory improves the T-Bones overall record to 9-8 with Game 2 of the series set for Tuesday night at 7:02 PM. Left-hander Devin Anderson (1-1; 6.60) takes the ball for Kansas City, and right-hander Tyler Herron (0-1; 3.97) will pitch for Fargo-Moorhead.
Tune in to the KMBZ Business Channel 1660 AM or click on the “Listen Live” button at www.tbonesbaseball.com for the play-by-play call.
