LINCOLN, NE – The Saltdogs (20-37) continue to struggle to find answers at Haymarket Park as they fall to the Monarchs (24-29) by a final of 14-3.
OF Aaron Takacs with an all-star-worthy performance recording three hits, and two doubles, one of which drove in a run to put the ‘Dogs on the board, and a solo homer of the year. Takacs extends his team lead with 33 RBIs.
INF Alex Baeza another the Saltdog with a three-hit night that included his fourth homer of the game to accompany a pair of singles.
INF Luke Roskam came in out of the bullpen in the eighth and threw 1.1 innings giving up three hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out two batters. It was his fourth pitching appearance of the season.
The Saltdogs found themselves down early in game one as Kansas City scored one run in the first three innings, but Takacs’ RBI double and solo homer kept the lead at one.
Baeza tied the game for the ‘Dogs in the fourth at three but that would be all of the offense Lincoln would get.
A five-run fifth inning for the Monarchs that featured three of Lincoln’s four errors on the night broke open the ballgame and Kansas City never looked back.
The Monarchs scored in seven of the nine innings and put up 17 hits, the most given up by Lincoln in 2024.
Game two of the series is scheduled for 6:05 on Saturday night from Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Catch every Saltdogs game home and away on KFOR FM 101.5/1240 AM or stream live for free on aabaseball.tv, new for the 2024 season.