LINCOLN — C.J. Retherford hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (26-18) poured it on in the ninth in a 11-2 victory over the Saltdogs (25-19) in front of 2,756 fans at Haymarket Park Tuesday night.
The RedHawks scored 11 unanswered runs after Lincoln had built a 2-0 lead going in to the fifth inning.
Fargo-Moorhead scored a run in the fifth and tied the game in the seventh on a Todd Jennings RBI single.
Joe Harris (4-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing a hit with a walk and a strikeout to earn the victory in relief. Stayton Thomas (1-1) surrendered two runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings to suffer the loss.
David Espinosa hit a solo home run in the third, his sixth of the season in a 2-for-3 effort. Jeff Squier registered his first multi-hit performance in a Saltdogs uniform.
Moises Melendez pitched 6 1/3 strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits and did not factor in to the decision for Lincoln.
The clubs are back at it Wednesday night at 6:05 p.m. for game two of the four-game series. Stephen Bougher (1-0, 1.50) will face Taylor Stanton (3-2, 3.38). Radio coverage begins at 5:35 p.m. on KFOR 1240.