The Winnipeg Goldeyes are just one win away from a spot in the championship series.
Just 48 hours after winning their first playoff series in seven years, the Goldeyes took Game 1 of the West Division Championship. The Fish crushed the longtime rival Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 10-1 on Monday night in North Dakota.
The Goldeyes scored eight runs in the first five innings to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
Winnipeg failed to score in the first inning, and left the bases loaded, but the Fish scored multiple runs in all of the next three innings.
After getting shutout in the first game of the post-season, Winnipeg has exploded for 27 runs over their last three games.
Ramon Bramasco hit a two-run homer in the second inning. Roby Enriquez also drove in a pair of runs and Dayson Croes had three RBI in the win.
Goldeyes starting pitcher Joey Matulovich bounced back in Game 1 after getting rocked in the first round of the playoffs. He evened his playoff record to 1-1 after allowing just one earned run in six innings, while striking out seven RedHawks’ batters.
It’s the 12th ever playoff meeting dating back to 1996 between the two old Northern League rivals. Fargo won seven of their first eleven playoff series, with the latest coming in 2022.
The final two games of the series, if necessary, will be played in Winnipeg. After the series takes an off-day on Tuesday, Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday at Blue Cross Park, with a potential deciding Game 3 to be played on Thursday.
The Kane County Cougars beat the Chicago Dogs 5-2 in Game 1 of the East Division Championship series.