THE REDHAWKS DROPPED ITS FINAL GAME TO SIOUX FALLS 5 TO 4, BUT CELEBRATE ITS 5 Millionth FAN.

FARGO, (KVRR/FM REDHAWKS) –The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks celebrated a franchise milestone before Sunday’s game against the Sioux Falls Canaries even began.

Jeremy Dirksen of Spicer, Minnesota, became the five millionth fan to take in a RedHawks baseball game when he and his wife, Ali, walked through the main gate at Newman Outdoor Field about half an hour before the first pitch Sunday.

The Dirksens were in town to watch their son, Drey, play for the visiting Canaries.

Naturally, they were appropriately swapped into RedHawks gear by the time Jeremy took the field to throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

The couple received a custom jersey, season tickets and a RedHawks prize package.

10,628 days after the RedHawks played their first-ever game in Fargo on June 7, 1996, at Jack Williams Stadium came the milestone 30 seasons in the making.

“It’s special every time you get to play at Newman, it’s just so enjoyable,” said left fielder Alec Olund. “Regardless if it’s a Tuesday night, a Monday night, a Sunday day game, a Friday night, whatever it is, I mean, we always have great fan support. That’s something about Fargo. Even as an opposing player when I was playing against them in years past, I mean, it was always a fun place to play. And that’s just a testament to our fans. Playing in front of them is great. I look forward to it every time.”

After the pregame festivities, Fargo-Moorhead dropped a 5-4 decision to Sioux Falls. The RedHawks held a 3-0 lead into the 6th, but allowed 3 as the game went tied to the 7th. Sioux Falls scored two in the top of 7 and got out of jams in the bottom of 7 and 9 to leave Fargo with the win.

“This whole week, we lost both series, but I think we were in every single game,” said Olund. “That’s something hopefully we can just continue to play quality baseball. Just sticking the course. It’s easy to look at these losses and be like, wow, we let a couple get away, which we did, and it’s frustrating, but we’re still playing quality baseball. I mean, we were a couple balls away from being 5-1 this week versus 2-4, and that’s just the nature of professional baseball. It’s hard to win, but hopefully those plays can start to fall our way and we can turn those losses, one-run losses, into wins.”

The RedHawks will open a four-game series against the Kansas City Monarchs with a seven-inning doubleheader on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Game 2 will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1. Following the home series, the RedHawks play its final series before the All-Star break on the road with three vs. KC.