Moo walked off by Sunfish 7-6
Sioux Falls, S. Dak. – One strike away from taking back first place in the second half Clark Division race, the Fremont Moo lost in gut-wrenching fashion to Sioux Falls, 7-6, Friday in the next-to-last game in the regular season.
Spearfish had already lost to Wheat City, 8-0, and the Moo led by one going to the bottom of the ninth. Brendon Jones had retired 10 batters in a row and was ahead of Adonis Forte II 1-2, who hit a popup into short left field. It landed for a hit, and Forte raced into second and was called safe on a close play. Then with the count at 0-2, Dane Fraser sliced a line drive down the right field line that cleared the fence for a two-run game-winning home run.
As they did last night, Fremont (41-22 overall/21-10 second half) scored in the first inning. Tyler Push led off the game with a single to left, stole second, then with two outs scored on a double off the wall by Luke White. Then in the second, a two-out rally doubled the Moo lead. Peyton Leeper worked a two-out walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored when Ryne Hays doubled to left to make it 2-0. Fremont tacked on another run in the fifth. After Push drew a leadoff walk, he moved to second on a wild pitch, then stole third before EJ Taylor lined a double to left to score Push and make it 3-0.
Sioux Falls (28-35/14-18) took advantage of Fremont wildness to take the lead in the fifth. After three straight walks to begin the inning, a two-run single by JT Mix cut the Moo lead to one. After another walk and a fielder’s choice left the bases loaded, Norris McClure drew a bases loaded walk, tying the game at three. A two-run single by Jesus Licon one batter later gave the Sunfish their first lead of the game at 5-3.
Fremont retook the lead in the top of the seventh inning. With one out, Dillon Sears singled to right, then moved to second when Taylor singled to left. The bases were loaded when White was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch to Jack Simonsen scored Sears and advanced Taylor to third. Simonsen worked a walk to reload the bases. Then with two outs, Austin Baskin hit a broken-bat roller to third. Daniel Criquet-Danielson fielded the ball, then threw wildly to first, scoring Taylor and White to give the Moo a 6-5 lead.
Brendon Jones (2-1) took the loss, allowing the two runs only after dominating for the first 3.1 innings of relief, striking out seven. Taylor paced the Moo offense, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
The Moo and Sunfish will close their regular season tomorrow night with a game starting at 6:35 pm. The game can be heard on FremontMoo.com and Big Dog 98.9 FM and 1340 AM. To qualify for the playoffs for a third straight season, Fremont must win and the Sasquatch must lose its regular-season finale to Wheat City.



