Goldeyes still perfect at Shaw Park

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This article was published 08/08/2021 (1762 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes looked to match the intensity of the heat Sunday afternoon for their series finale against the Milwaukee Milkmen at Shaw Park.

And they did. Playing some of their best baseball of the season, the Fish continued the trend, defeating the Milkmen 4-3.

“The mentality in the clubhouse is really consistent right now, we just get to the field and try to do the same thing every day,” said Goldeyes second baseman Dakota Conners.

Fish fans who attended Shaw Park during the last week saw the Winnipeg club go undefeated in their opening homestand, winning six games in a row. Conners says the club is feeding off the home crowds and the atmosphere in the ballpark.

“We’re riding out the energy of being back in Winnipeg and every day has been awesome since we’ve been back,” said Conners.

“We just got to keep it rolling.”

The Fish looked to end the weekend with a series sweep of the Milkmen, having picked up victories Friday and Saturday by scores of 6-4 and 7-0, respectively.

Right-hander Landen Bourassa earned the start for the Fish Sunday and started strongly.

Goldeyes left-fielder Kevin Lachance golfed a ball to left field for a solo homer to give the Fish a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

Milwaukee shortstop Brendon Dadson answered in the fourth, bringing home teammate Carson McCurdy with a big strike to left field, giving the Milkmen a 2-1 lead.

Milwaukee starter Ryan Zimmerman entered the game with a 7-4 record and an ERA of 3.77 and had a solid outing.

By the midpoint of Sunday’s matchup, Bourassa and Zimmerman were in a pitching duel.

In the sixth, Goldeyes right-fielder Max Murphy hit a double and moved to third on a Kyle Martin single. He scored on a wild pitch by Zimmerman. Goldeyes third baseman Raul Navarro then drove Martin home with a double, bring the dugout to life and the fans to their feet.

“I think it’s just a lot of fun, everyone is just relaxed, we’re loose and swinging pretty well,” said Murphy.

“Our pitchers are throwing it well, I think everyone is content instead of worrying about all the stuff we had to deal with in Jackson.”

Zimmerman was yanked for right-hander Zach Hartman but the action wasn’t over. A sacrifice fly by Lachance advanced Navarro to third, and a well-placed single by Conners brought the third baseman home, giving the Fish a 4-2 lead.

Conners, who had never seen Winnipeg prior to the trip, became a crowd favourite for the grand slam he launched in the Goldeyes’ thrilling Wednesday night win over the Sioux City Explorers. He’s still soaking in what he calls an incredible experience.

“This whole last week has been awesome,” said Conners.

“I can’t even really describe it. You think about doing that when you are a kid in the back yard just messing around, it was a dream. We feel the energy, having the best fans in the league I think and the nicest park I’ve ever played in.”

Goldeyes manager Rick Forney made full use of his pitching staff in the late going, using Nate Antone in the eighth and Donnie Hart in the ninth. Hart struck out the first two Milkmen he faced but the crowd of 1,635 got a little nervous when Milwaukee’s Tony Rosselli clubbed an inside the park dinger. That was as close as Milwaukee would get.

The Goldeyes, 38-35, now embark on an Illinois road trip that should factor significantly into their quest for a North Division playoff spot. They currently trail the Fargo Moorhead Redhawks by four games. They will face the Chicago Dogs and the Kane County Cougars in a pair of three-game series. Murphy says the club needs to keep the momentum rolling.

“Chicago is a good place to hit, hopefully we put up a ton of runs on them. Kane County, I know they are not doing so hot, so hopefully we can ride this thing through the whole road trip,” said Murphy.

The Goldeyes return to Shaw Park for a divisional series against the Gary SouthShore Railcats on Aug. 17.

jbernacki@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JosephBernacki