#chsfield

Indians 8 Saints 5 W-Brice (1-1) L-Minaya (0-1)

The St. Paul Saints finally returned home after a two-week long road trip. They squared off with a familiar opponent in the Indianapolis Indians this morning at CHS Field. The Saints bats got cooking early in the second inning. Curtis Terry started it all with a base hit to center and Jermaine Palacios did the same. Caleb Hamilton loaded the bases with a walk and Roy Morales emptied the bases with a double to center. This put St. Paul up by three after two frames. The Saints kept adding on in the third when Alex Kirilloff and Spencer Steer singled. Curtis Terry hit a sac fly to right to extend the lead to four for St. Paul. The Indians would answer in the fourth as Mason Martin crushed a Danny Coulombe offerring out to right for a solo homer. Indy pulled within and St. Paul got that run back in the fifth. Royce Lewis led-off and reached on an error by Hoy Park. Alex Kirilloff singled to right and a Spencer Steer double play ball plated a run. The Saints had a 5-1 lead after five innings of play. The Indians comeback started in the sixth as Travis Swaggerty led-off with a double to center. Ji-Hwan Bae walked and a double steal was executed. Canaan Smith-Njigba knocked in two with a groundout to get Indianapolis within a pair of runs. The Indians continued to inch closer as Carter Bins drew a one-out walk in the seventh. Oneil Cruz obliterated a Jovani Moran fastball out to center for a two-run homer that tied the game at five apiece. The bullpens held up and extra innings were needed today. Neither side scored in the tenth and the Indians would rally in the eleventh. Jared Oliva reached on a fielder’s choice when Mason Martin was thrown out at home. Cole Tucker walked and JC Ramirez entered the game. Bligh Madris walked to load up the bases and Hoy Park hit a comebacker that JC Ramirez couldn’t find after it hit him. Two bases loaded walks put the Indians up 8-5 and they never looked back. Austin Brice had a percent eleventh as the Indians picked up the win today. 

-Final Thoughts- Cole Sands looked very strong today. He threw three shutout innings and allowed a hit with three strikeouts and a walk. Danny Coulombe gave up a homer and struck out one in a rehab inning. Jake Faria gave up three runs on two hits with two strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings. Jovani Moran had three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings. Juan Minaya gave up a pair of runs over 2 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. JC Ramirez was awful with three walks in 1/3 of an inning. Alex Kirilloff led the way with two hits on the day. The Saints hit 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Tomorrow, Jerad Eickhoff will face Jordan Balazovic to open a doubleheader tomorrow in St. Paul. 

Indianapolis Indians Lineup St. Paul Saints Lineup

1.) Oneil Cruz SS                1.) Royce Lewis SS

2.) Travis Swaggerty CF      2.) Alex Kirilloff LF

3.) Ji-Hwan Bae 2B             3.) Spencer Steer 2B

4.) Mason Martin 1B           4.) Jake Cave RF 

5.) Canaan Smith-Njigba LF 5.) Curtis Terry 1B

6.) Jared Oliva RF               6.) Jermaine Palacios 3B

7.) Cole Tucker DH              7.) Mark Contreras CF

8.)  Carter Bins C                 8.) Caleb Hamilton C

9.) Hoy Park 3B                   9.) Roy Morales DH

SP Cam Alldred LHP           SP Cole Sands RHP 

(2-1) 1.33 ERA                     (0-4) 8.62 ERA

(2022 AAA Stats)