LINCOLN, Nebraska – Ryan Long had a double, homer and three RBIs, but the ‘Dogs allowed seven unearned runs in the 8th inning of a 12-9 loss to the Lake Country DockHounds at Haymarket Park on Wednesday night.
Long’s two-run homer tied the game at five in the 7th before Justin Byrd gave Lincoln a lead with a two-out RBI single, but Lincoln (17-11) committed three errors in the 8th inning behind RHP Jonathan Cheshire and saw a four-game winning streak come to an end.
Cheshire came on an allowed a single to Daniel Martins-Molinari. Manuel Blanco reached on a sac-bunt, error on the pitcher before Jake Snider reached on a sac-bunt, error on the third baseman Ryan Long that scored Molinari to tie the game.
After T.J. Bennett was intentionally walked, Gabriel Noriega plated a run with an RBI fielder’s choice. Gio Brusa singled in another run and Aaron Takacs drove in two more with a double.
Lake Country (13-17) opened the scoring on Noriega’s RBI single in the 1st inning, and the ‘Dogs got a pair of two-out RBIs from J.R. DiSarcina and Skyler Weber to take a 2-1 lead in the 2nd.
Blake Berry tied the game with a single in the 3rd before Ryan Long’s go-ahead double in the bottom-half. Lake Country tied the game once more with a double from Martins-Molinari in the 4th and took a 5-3 lead on Blanco’s two-run single in the 5th.
Garett Delano allowed five runs over 4.2 innings in his fifth start of the year, while Josh Norwood tossed 2.1 scoreless innings. Jonathan Cheshire allowed seven unearned runs over one inning, and Carson Lance tossed a scoreless 9th.
Hunter Clanin’s 8th-inning double extended his on-base streak to 24 – the longest for a Saltdog this season.
The ‘Dogs and DockHounds conclude the series on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and pregame coverage begins at 6:35 on ESPN Lincoln 101.5 FM/1480 AM.
The Saltdogs are playing their 21st season in Lincoln! Visit saltdogs.com and follow us @saltdogsball on all social media for information regarding tickets and promotions all season long.