KANSAS CITY, Kansas – Curt Smith became Lincoln’s all-time franchise leader with his 91st career homer, but the ‘Dogs allowed five runs in the eighth and lost 14-11 to the Kansas City Monarchs in the four-game series finale at Legends Field on Sunday afternoon.
Smith’s historic homer opened the scoring with two outs in the first, and Lincoln (20-21) tied a season high with three homers and 11 total runs.
Lincoln took an 11-9 lead on Yanio Perez’s two-run homer in the 8th, but Logan Lombana allowed five Kansas City (24-17) runs and took his second loss of the year
Perez finished 4-for-5 – Lincoln’s third four-hit game of the year – but after rallying from deficits of 5-2 and 8-4, the ‘Dogs dropped a second consecutive game and split the four-game set with the Monarchs.
Walter Borkovich allowed eight runs over 4.2 innings, while Jake Hohensee allowed one run over 1.1 innings. Carter Hope worked a scoreless 7th inning, and Tyler Anderson also tossed 0.2 scoreless innings.
Josh Altmann hit his fourth homer in five games – a two-run shot in the 5th – and finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Forrestt Allday went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and Justin Byrd drove in two with a double in the 6th inning. Ryan Long worked three walks for the first time this year, and David Vidal walked twice.
The ‘Dogs are four games back of KC for the second spot in the South Division, and are now five back of Sioux City leading the division.
The ‘Dogs and Explorers open a four-game set with a seven-inning doubleheader at Haymarket Park on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m., and the game will be joined in progress at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN Lincoln 101.5 FM/1480 AM.
The Saltdogs are celebrating their 20th season at Haymarket Park this season! All ticket and promotional information can be viewed at saltdogs.com.