FARGO, ND -- Coming off a 13-hit output the night prior, the Sioux Falls Canaries were limited to six hits, while the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks scored early and often in the Canaries' 8-2 loss to open a four-game series on Monday night in Fargo.

Alex Caldera (2-1) threw six shutout innings on two hits to lead Fargo-Moorhead to its first home win of the season. Three more relievers held the Canaries to two solo home runs and four hits in the final three frames.

RedHawks shortstop Zach Penprase, who last season was a league all-star, shook off of an early-season slow start with a three-hit, two-RBI performance. He scored the game’s first run on Tim Alberts’ single in the first inning, and Fargo-Moorhead never relinquished the lead. Penprase knocked home a run in the second with a double.

Todd Jennings also had three hits and two RBI, while Keith Brachold hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to build a 6-0 RedHawks lead. Ryan Pineda added a run-scoring double in the seventh, and Jennings capped the scoring with an RBI single.

The Canaries tallied their first run when Steve Domecus launched a solo home run to left field in the seventh inning. John Alonso corked his first home run of the year in ninth inning.

Canaries pitching had difficulty closing out innings. Six of eight Fargo-Moorhead runs came with two outs, as did eight of their 14 hits. Canaries starter Jordan Whatcott (0-3) suffered the loss, yielding six runs on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

The Canaries and RedHawks continue the a four-game series at 11 a.m. on Tuesday in Fargo.

Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Canaries

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