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The Winnipeg Goldeyes (25-24) exploded for nine runs in their first at-bat Thursday evening en route to a 17-7 victory over the Sioux City Explorers at Lewis & Clark Park.
Box Score
The game’s first batter, third baseman Ramón Bramasco, crushed a home run to right-centre field and that was only the beginning of what would be an offensive onslaught. Three pitches later, left fielder Roby Enríquez went deep to right field and the Goldeyes led 2-0. After base hits by right fielder Max Murphy and centre fielder Miles Simington, catcher Rob Emery launched a three-run blast to left that increased the lead to 5-0. Two more runs would come home on a single to left by shortstop Andy Armstrong and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bramasco, before Enríquez smacked his second of the inning – a two-run shot down the right field line that made it 9-0.
Winnipeg continued the barrage in the second inning, sending ten men to the plate and scoring another eight times, all with two out. Second baseman Keshawn Lynch singled to centre to bring in Emery and designated hitter Dayson Croes scampered home on a wild pitch before Bramasco smashed a three-run drive down the right field line to extend the lead to 14-0. The two round-trippers matched Bramasco’s previous career home run total. Three batters later, Simington belted a three-run dinger to right – the Goldeyes’ sixth of the game.
Sioux City (22-25) got one back in the bottom of the second on a lead off homer by left fielder Daniel Montano, and they put up a crooked number of their own in the third. Back-to-back doubles by catcher Will Busch and second baseman Daniel Lingua made it 17-2 before a two-run single to right by right fielder Scott Ota, a double to right by designated hitter Osvaldo Martínez, and a single by centre fielder Chase Harris cut Winnipeg’s lead to 17-6.
The Explorers added a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to round out the scoring as Ota came in on Montano’s sacrifice fly to left.
Travis Seabrooke (W, 3-1) allowed six runs on 11 hits over five innings for the Goldeyes. He fanned three and walked two. Tasker Strobel, Grant Townsend, and Nick Trogrlic-Iverson worked the final four frames.
Braunny Muñoz (L, 4-2) started for Sioux City and exited after the first inning. He gave up nine runs – all earned – on eight hits, including the four home runs.
Every Winnipeg batter had at least one hit, and each scored a run. Bramasco drove in five, while Enríquez, Simington, and Emery each had three runs batted in.
“Even though we did have a huge lead, it was still a dangerous game the way the wind was blowing out,” commented Goldeyes skipper Logan Watkins. “Some of those innings could have gotten out of hand on us, but we really did come out swinging and it was more than enough in the end.”
The Goldeyes return home to Blue Cross Park Friday at 7:00 p.m. CDT to open a three-game weekend series with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. Landen Bourassa (4-3, 3.05 ERA) will take the mound for Winnipeg, while Fargo-Moorhead will counter with fellow right-hander Colten Davis (4-2, 4.19 ERA).
Friday is Rock Night with post-game fireworks. Saturday is Ghostbusters Night, with a screening of the original 1984 film on our spectacular new videoboard after the game, and the weekend will conclude with Sunday Family Fun Day.