LINCOLN, NE – The Saltdogs (32-54) folded late in game two as the Canaries (47-38) evened up the series with an 8-5 win.
OF Aaron Takacs put together a four-hit night with five RBIs capped off by a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. Takacs is 6-for-8 with 8 RBIs in the series.
INF Drew Devine posted a two-hit effort with a pair of doubles and scored three runs.
RHP Foster Pace went 6.0 innings surrendering eight hits, five runs, four earned, one walk, and struck out seven batters.
The Saltdogs struck first in game two with two runs on INF Spencer Henson RBI double and Takacs’ first of five RBIs.
The Canaries would score three straight on three solo homers including back-to-back jacks in the third.
Lincoln would tie it up in the third with a sacrifice fly from Takacs that scored INF Drew Devine.
To the fifth, the Canaries would reclaim the lead with a sacrifice fly, but Lincoln struck right back in the bottom half with a Takacs RBI single scoring Devine for the second time.
The back-and-forth trend continues with the Canaries taking a 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth off an RBI double. Just like the fifth, the Saltdogs tied it up with a run of their own in the bottom half as OF Kyle Battle singled scoring INF Max Hewitt.
The Canaries would open up their largest lead of the night in the eighth with a three spot on two hits, sending eight batters to the plate.
Lincoln would put together a rally in the ninth with a Takacs’ two-run homer to bring them within one. OF Zane Zurbrugg kept the dream alive with a two-out triple to put the tying run 90 feet away but he would be stranded there as the ‘Dogs dropped game two.
The rubber match between Lincoln and Sioux Falls is set for 1:05 on Sunday afternoon 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.