The Winnipeg Goldeyes smashed four homeruns en route to a 13-8 victory over the Calgary Vipers at Foothills Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Five runs in the second inning and seven more in the fifth were enough for the Goldeyes to take the first game of the series. The Vipers battled, hitting three of their own homeruns, but it was not enough on this evening.

 

Darryl Brinkley returned to the Vipers line-up and picked up right where he left off with a leadoff single. Carlos Duncan reached on a fielder's choice and with two outs and two strikes Jason Colson hit a double to make the score 1-0.

After retiring the first four batters of the game the Goldeyes got to Calgary starter Ryan Wyland in a big way in the second inning. First Walter Young hit a solo homerun and after a walk to Anton Gray, Brent Metheny hit a two run shot. With two outs Max Poulin bunted for a hit and Fehlandt Lentini had a swinging bunt single. Those two hits were followed by Anton French and Chris Latham run batted in singles to give Winnipeg a 5-1 lead.

Calgary got a run back in the bottom of the third as Manabu Kuramochi reached on a fielding error by Poulin, stole second, and scored on a single by Drew Miller.

The Vipers got within one run in the fourth inning with a double by Jorge Tang and Kevin Price's second homerun of the season to cut the lead down to 5-4.

Right away the Goldeyes responded though in the fifth inning with Wyland walking Latham, Young, and Gray to load the bases. With two outs Metheny hit his second homerun of the game, a grand slam, to give him six runs batted in on the game. After a Luis Alen walk Wyland was pulled and Ryan Klatt came in and gave up a single to Poulin and a three run homerun to Lentini to give Winnipeg a 12-4 lead.

In the bottom of the inning after a leadoff walk to Duncan, Colson hit a two run shot to tie him with Brinkley for a league leading 51 runs batted in and closing the lead to 12-6.

For the third straight inning the Snakes hit a two run homerun, as this time after a Miller swinging bunt single, Duncan crushed a deep drive to left centerfield to get Calgary within four at 12-8.

An insurance run was added in the eighth by Winnipeg with a French double and Latham's second RBI single of the night to make the score 13-8.