The American Association North division champion St. Paul Saints faced off with the Sioux City Explorers on Thursday night just hours after they clinched the division with a loss by the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The Saints sent Jeff Shields to the mound while the Explorers countered with Ryan Strufing.

Both pitchers had matching first innings that consisted of three batters up and three batters being retired.

The Saints got the first run of the game in the second inning when Angelo Songco led off with a single to center field. He advanced to second when Joey Paciorek walked, which set up Steve Nikorak, who reached on a throwing error by the pitcher. The error allowed Songco to score and give the Saints the early 1-0 lead.

The Explorers responded in the third when Tim Colwell reached on a fielder’s choice. He advanced to second when Matty Johnson grounded out to second baseman Dan Kaczrowski. Colwell then scored on a Brent Keys single to right field to tie the score. Keys was then retired when he overran first base to end the inning.

The teams then engaged in a pitchers' duel with neither team getting any runs despite a couple of scoring chances. The Saints finally broke the deadlock in the sixth inning when Songco led off with a single. Paciorek then hit a home run to right field to give the Saints the 3-1 lead. Nikorak then hit a double to right field, which spelled the end of the night for Strufing, who gave way to Billy Bullock. Bullock then got a strikeout and a flyout to right field to end the inning.

The Explorers took the lead in the eighth inning when Mendonca led off with a single, followed by a Koch double to advance Mendonca to third. They both scored when Colwell hit a triple to left field to tie the game. The Explorers then took the lead when Keys doubled to score Colwell. The Explorers were unable to get any other runs, and they took a 4-3 lead to the ninth.

The Explorers then brought in Jose Flores to close the game. The first batter he faced was Nikorak, whom he struck out swinging. The next batter was Phillips, who weakly grounded out to third base for the second out. Kaczrowski then stepped up as the last chance for the Saints. He struck out to end the game and give the Explorers a 4-3 win.

The Saints now travel to Joplin to face the Blasters this weekend before returning home early next week to face the Explorers.

Win- Jimmer Kennedy

Loss- Jeff Shields

Save- Jose Flores