MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - St. Paul, MN – The Sioux Falls Canaries (1-2) scored early and rode a strong pitching effort by Ryan Ford to a 4-1 win over the St. Paul Saints (2-1) on Thursday night at Midway Stadium in St. Paul Minnesota. Ford’s brilliant outing allowed him to pick up a win for the fifth consecutive start.
The Canaries took the lead with three runs in the top of the first inning. Kennard Bibbs opened the inning with a single. Grant Richardson followed with a double to score Bibbs and the Birds were on the scoreboard, 1-0. Later in the inning, Beau Torbert hit his 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot, and Sioux Falls expanded their lead to three, 3-0.
The Birds added another run in the third inning. Torbert reached on a fielder’s choice, and Ben Van Iderstine followed with a fly ball to right field. Torbert was in motion on the pitch, and was on his way to third base 
ADVERTISEMENT when Saints right fielder Heath Keel misplayed the ball. Keel’s error allowed Torbert to score, and give the Canaries a 4-0 advantage over the Saints.
St. Paul would get one run in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Pichi Balet singled to score Tony Mansolino. However, Kris Regas struck out Heath Keel to end the game with the Canaries prevailing, 4-1.
Ryan Ford (7-3) pitched 8.1 innings allowing one run on six hits while walking two and striking out five. Justin Lord (3-6) suffered the loss allowing four runs, three earned in seven innings. Regas struck out two of three batters he faced for his 17th save of the season.
The Canaries will play one lone game in Sioux City tomorrow night before the First Half North Division Champions return to the Birdcage on Saturday, July 5 at 7:05 p.m. Arch, Inc., Gil Haugen Construction, and Associated Consulting Engineering will team-up to give away T-Shirts to the first 500 adults (All Shirts XL) on Saturday.
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