Baumgartner Throws All 9 as Merchants Win 8^th Straight

Fargo, North Dakota – The Merchants rode the arm of Brandon Baumgartner to defeat the Red River Shrimpers 7-3 on Wednesday night at Helling Field, the Merchants have now won eight in a row.

Baumgartner threw all nine innings for the M’s, scattering ten hits while giving up two earned runs and striking out thirteen Shrimpers. Baumgartner improved to 3-1 on the year.

The Merchant hitting was the story early in the game. The Merchants stranded multiple base runners in the first two innings but finally broke through in the third innings scoring three runs. Jamestown followed their three run third with three more in the fourth to take 6-0 lead.

The Shrimpers plated single runs against Baumgartner in the fourth, fifth, and sixth to make it a 6-3 game until the M’s scored an insurance run in the top of the eighth.

Five Merchants had multi hit games led by Jared J-Rod Purdy who went 4-5 with a triple. J-Rod upped his team leading batting average to .475 on the year.

“I’ve been crushing the ball all year.  It just goes to show that no practice, non-existent workouts, and a diet of Taco John's and Hardeez is what it takes to put up these kind of numbers,” said J-Rod while he rounded second in rout to his third inning triple.

J-Rod and the M’s will take the Fourth of July weekend off before getting back on the diamond next Wednesday against the Redcaps of Mayville, First pitch scheduled for 7:00 PM