ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Paul Saints won in exciting fashion on Sunday afternoon as Brady Shoemaker hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to help the Saints sweep the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Winnipeg scores right away

It was the Goldeyes who got on the board first in the top of the first inning. After Andrew Sohn led off the game with a single and advanced on two wild pitches, he scored when Josh Romanski singled to left field. Saints starter Ryan Zimmerman was able to escape the inning with a strikeout of Reggie Abercrombie, followed by inducing Shawn Pleffner to ground into an inning-ending double play for the final two outs.

The Saints went down in order in their half of the first, after which the Goldeyes also went down quietly, the only baserunner being Mason Katz, who drew a walk but was stranded. In the second inning, the Saints got the run back in a big way. After Brady Shoemaker struck out for the first out, Anthony Gallas stepped up to the plate and ripped a home run to right field. Unfortunately for the Saints, they were unable to add any other runs in the inning.

Winnipeg retook the lead in the third inning when Sohn led off with a walk. David Rohm reached base on a fielder’s choice that saw Sohn retired at second, then advanced to third on a double from Romanski. That set up Reggie Abercrombie to hit a ground out to shortstop, but it got the run across to put the Goldeyes up 2-1. They tacked on another run in the fourth inning on a RBI single from Sohn that saw Wes Darvill score to put them up 3-1.

Saints keep chipping away, take the lead

In the bottom of the fourth, the Saints cut it to a 3-2 lead, as Shoemaker delivered a home run to right field. After Gallas struck out to end the inning, and the Goldeyes were unable to push any runs across in the top of the fifth inning, the Saints added two runs, thanks to an inside the park home run from Tony Thomas and a couple of errors from the Goldeyes, but when the dust settled, it was a 4-3 Saints lead.

The Goldeyes were able to tie the game in the sixth inning when Darvill led-off with a single, and was retired when Jordan Ebert hit into a fielder’s choice. Ebert advanced to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a single by Sohn, and scored when Rohm hit a sacrifice fly to center field to tie the game at 4.

Saints walk-off in 11 innings

From there, it turned into a pitcher’s duel, as neither team was able to scratch across a run, forcing the game to go into extra innings. The game made it to the 11th inning before Shoemaker hit a walk-off home run to right-center field to send the Saints home with a win, and a series sweep.

The Saints will next be in action Tuesday when they host the Sioux City Explorers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and the starting pitchers are still to be announced. The Goldeyes will now return to Winnipeg, where they will host the Gary Southshore Railcats starting Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The Goldeyes will send LHP Kevin McGovern (5-1, 3.31) to the mound, while the Railcats are to be announced.

Game Summary

Win – Ken Frosch (3-0)

Loss – Ryan Chaffee (0-2)

Save – None

Player of the game – Brady Shoemaker (walk-off home run in 11th inning.)

WPG 101 101 000 00 - 4

STP 010 120 000 01- 5