Goldeyes face rival RedHawks in first round of playoffs

Now the real fun begins.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes have completed the marathon that is the American Association regular season, hitting the finish line Monday afternoon in Kansas City with a 5-1 loss. That leaves the Fish with a 54-46 record, good for second place in the West Division and tied for fourth-best in the 12-team league.

That’s a tidy turnaround from a year ago, when the Fish flopped with a 41-58 record to finish at the bottom of their division and 11th-overall.

Up next? The sprint that is the playoffs, with eight teams looking to reel in the 2026 championship by winning eight high-stakes games over the next three weeks.

Winnipeg will take on third-place Fargo in an opening round best-of-three series, which starts on Wednesday with Game 1 in North Dakota. Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be held at Blue Cross Park on Friday and Saturday evening, with first pitch set for 7 p.m.

The winner of that series will face the winner of No. 1 Kansas City vs. No. 4 Sioux Falls in the best-of-five divisional which begins Sept. 14. The West champion will then head to the best-of-five league championship series and a meeting with one of No. 1 Milwaukee, No. 2 Lake Country, No. 3 Kane County or No. 4 Cleburne for all the marbles beginning Sept. 21.

Forget about everything that’s happened so far. Everyone is back to a 0-0 record.

The Goldeyes and RedHawks need no introductions. This will be the 13th time they’ve met in the postseason, with Fargo holding a 7-5 series advantage and 24-22 record overall.

Their storied rivalry goes all the way back to the Northern League, with nine different September battles between 1996 and 2009. That’s been followed by three American Association matchups.

If you’re looking for a more recent sample size, the RedHawks did go 7-5 this season against the Goldeyes. However, there’s not a lot to separate them through 100 regular season games.

Fargo ended up just a game behind Winnipeg with a 53-47 record. The clubs finished second (Fargo) and third (Winnipeg) in team batting average, and second (Fargo) and fourth (Winnipeg) in runs scored. On the mound, the clubs were seventh (Fargo) and eighth (Winnipeg) in earned-run-average as consistent pitching proved to be a problem.

Translation: there should be plenty of offensive fireworks in this series.

Winnipeg has a +20 run differential this year, while Fargo was just ahead of them at +25.

One potential advantage for Winnipeg is having the final two games in their backyard. The Goldeyes tied a franchise record with 34 victories at Blue Cross Park, which was the best home record in the league. Conversely, Winnipeg won only 20 times in enemy territory.

Fargo’s splits were more balanced, with 28 home wins and 25 road triumphs.

Winnipeg’s campaign was filled with plenty of momentum swings, including a middling 27-31 start which was immediately followed by a magical 13 game winning streak to establish a new franchise record. However, the Goldeyes went just 14-15 over the final 29 games.

Individual accomplishments include Adam Hall leading the team with a .342 batting average, good for sixth-overall in the league, while Noah Marcelo drove in 92 runs to finish third-best. Not far behind him was teammate Ray-Patrick Didder, who had 81 RBI — including an incredible eight this past Friday night in Kansas courtesy of two grand slams.

Ramon Bramasco showed off his terrific eye at the plate with a league-leading 74 walks, while veteran Max Murphy shook off some early struggles to finish strong.

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When it comes to pitching, the Goldeyes recently welcomed back ace Landon Bourassa from Mexico. Expect him to be tasked with the Game 1 start in Fargo. Rookie Aiden Newton (5-0, 3.28 ERA) has been a terrific add to the rotation as well. One question mark is the health of proven starter Ryo Kohigasho, who finished the year on the injured list.

In the bullpen, closer Derrick Cherry was rock-solid with 18 saves — and his first career base hit as he took a spot in the lineup on Sunday in Kansas City with several regulars being rested. Sage Ferguson (1.06 ERA) and Eli Saul (3.76 ERA) will also be counted on to get some big outs.

Fargo has some big offensive weapons including Tripp Clark, who finished second in the league with a .357 average and Jose Sermo, who belted 33 home runs and drove in 104 trailing only Lake Country’s Joshua Mears (38 HR, 112 RBI) in those categories.

Playoff tickets are now on sale at goldeyes.com. Winnipeg averaged nearly 4,000 per game during the regular season — its highest total since 2019.

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Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.