Lincoln, Nebraska- The Lincoln Saltdogs defeated the Sioux Falls Canaries, 7-2, Saturday night at Haymarket Park. Rolando Espinosa hit a solo home run and drove in three, sparking the Saltdogs. Mikey Kane reached base in his 15th straight game, and Danny Bautista, Jr. picked up his 100th and 101st hits on the season.
Lincoln (33-52) scored seven runs, off 10 hits and committed one error. Sioux Falls (48-38) plated two runs with five hits and committed no errors, in a game that lasted three hours and one minute, in front of 4,647 fans.
The Saltdogs began the scoring in the bottom of the first. Mikey Kane drew a two-out walk, against Sioux Falls starter Matt Solter. A wild pitch advanced Kane to second. Then, Neyfy Castillo reached on a base on balls. The next batter, Kyle Battle, singled, scoring Kane, to put Lincoln ahead, 1-0.
Sioux Falls grabbed it first lead of the night in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Josh Rehwaldt reached on a catcher’s interference. Then, Jordan Barth singled, against Lincoln starter Nate Blain. The next batter, Mike Hart, doubled, bringing home Rehwaldt, to tie the game at 1-1. Two batters later, Drey Dirksen walked. Then, Joe Vos singled, scoring Barth, to put the Canaries in front, 2-1.
Lincoln responded in the bottom of the sixth. Facing Canaries reliever Cade Torgerson, Mikey Kane led off with a walk. The next batter, Neyfy Castillo, singled. A wild pitch advanced the base runners to second and third. Three batters later, Rolando Espinosa singled, scoring both Kane and Castillo, to put the Saltdogs back in the lead, 3-2.
The Saltdogs added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Danny Bautista, Jr. led off the inning with a single. Two batters later, Mikey Kane singled. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third. After a Neyfy Castillo strike out, Kyle Battle delivered a base hit to right field, scoring both Kane and Castillo, to make it a 5-2 Saltdogs advantage.
In the bottom of the eighth, Lincoln put the game out of reach. Rolando Espinosa hit a solo home run, his 13th of the season, to left center field, leading off the inning, and made the score 6-2. Then, Gustavo Sosa drew a walk. Three batters later, Brody Fahr walked. Sioux Falls went to the bullpen and brought in Brendan Knoll. Mikey Kane walked. Then, a wild pitch scored Sosa, to make it 7-2.
Wills Montgomerie came on to pitch for Lincoln in the top of the ninth. He got Matt Ruiz to ground out, in front of home plate, for the first out. Then, Matt Bottcher grounded out to third. Calvin Estrada was hit by a pitch, then, Josh Rehwaldt drew a walk. The next batter, Jordan Barth, flew out to center field, for the final out of the game.
Lincoln starter Nate Blain pitched 4.1 innings, giving up two runs, off four hits, struck out six and walked three. David Shaw (1-1) picked up his first win as a Lincoln Saltdog, pitching 1.2 innings, struck out two and walked one. Peyton Cariaco pitched 1.0 inning, gave up one hit and walked one. Ethan Bates pitched a clean eighth inning. Wills Montgomerie pitched 1.0 inning and walked one.
Sioux Falls starter Matt Solter worked 5.0 innings in his Canaries debut, yielding one run off four hits, struck out six and walked four. Cade Torgerson (6-6) took the loss, pitching 2.2 innings, surrendering six runs off six hits, struck out four and walked four. Brendan Knoll pitched 0.1 innings and walked two.
Offensively for the Saltdogs, Danny Bautista, Jr. was 2-for-5. Kyle Battle went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs. Rolando Espinosa was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, including a solo home run.
For the Canaries, Jordan Barth was 2-for-5. Mike Hart went 1-for-4 and drove in one run. Joe Vos was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
The final game of the six-game series is Sunday afternoon. RHP Matt Mullenbach (3-4, 7.09 ERA) will pitch for Lincoln. LHP Tanner Brown (5-4, 3.55 ERA) will be on the mound for the Canaries. The first pitch will be 1:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KFOR 101.5 FM/1240 AM, with audio streaming at: www.kfornow.com. Live video of the game will be available at: www.aabaseball.tv.
Sunday’s game is “Family Funday Sunday”. Fans may purchase one upper reserved seat ticket, one Fairbury Brand hot dog, one bag of chips and one Pepsi fountain soda for only $17. They may upgrade the deal to a Lower Reserved seat, for just $3 more. Also, it’s “Signature Sunday”, with pregame player autographs, sponsored by Wild Dutchman Sunflower Seeds. Also, it’s “Faith & Family Day”. For tickets, merchandise, and promotional information, go to: www.saltdogs.com.