06/09/2003 9:50 AM - The T-Bones introduced their bullpen to the home town fans the hard way. Local starting pitcher Tommy Thomas struggled with control tonight with 3BB and a walked in run in the first inning. This game is the third to date that a run was scored in the first inning off of a T-Bones pitcher. Thomas was sent off the mound in the second inning with 4BB, 34 pitches, and 13 strikes.

The bottom of the second looked better for the T-Bones when Jack Jones’ double sent Chad Ehrnsberger and Sean Murphy home to score. LePine’s ground out to first drove in Jones to give the T-Bones the lead.

The forth also looked promising with a “wind in the sails” homerun by Sean Murphy that also drove in Ehrnsberger.

The trouble for the T-Bones started when relief pitcher Jayson Sigley dropped the ball for a balk to score one, and surrendered an RBI single to the next batter. Redhawks’ leftfielder Jon Weber homered in the seventh to bring Fargo-Moorhead within one. Chris LePine made the defensive play of the game with a beautiful catch in right field to temporarily preserve the lead.

The top of the eighth was a nightmare for the T-Bones. Gomes was removed with one runner on and one out in the top of the eighth for closer D. J. Johnson. Johnson marked the first of three pitching changes in the inning. The T-Bones’ 6-5 lead was blown to bits when the Redhawks scored a heartbreaking eight runs in the top of the eighth. With the bullpen emptied, Tom Masterman finally shut the door on the scoring rampage, when reliever Brian Ford could only muster one out. The T-Bones scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to answer back, but it wasn’t enough to save this game for Kansas City.

Tomorrow night the T-Bones will put Nate Sevier on the mound to try to rebound from the loss, and bring Kansas City back to its winning ways.