OCONOMOWOC, Wisconsin – The Lincoln Saltdogs (30-33) and Lake Country DockHounds (22-40) split a pair of games Sunday, with Lincoln winning the first game, 8-7, and Lake Country winning the second, 6-5, in extra innings.
GAME 1
Patrick Caulfield hit a go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the 9th inning, and the ‘Dogs held on to win the game resumed from Saturday, 8-7.
Caulfield hit a grand slam after Josh Altmann walked, Welington Dotel singled and Garett Delano walked – all with two outs – to extend the inning.
Lincoln fell behind 7-1 after five innings. The ‘Dogs rallied with an RBI single from Ryan Long in the 7th, a two-out, two-run double from Randy Norris in the 8th and Caulfield’s grand slam in the 9th. Lincoln’s rally marked the first time this year the ‘Dogs had won when trailing after eight innings.
Matt Cronin picked up his first Saltdogs save by going 1-2-3 with a strikeout in the 9th inning. Elijah Johnson tossed three scoreless innings, while Tucker Smith allowed seven in the 4th and 5th.
Greg Minier had pitched three scoreless innings before the game had been suspended to weather on Saturday night.
The win also marked the first time the ‘Dogs won back-to-back games since June 20-22 when Lincoln won three straight against Winnipeg and Sioux Falls.
GAME 2
Ryan Long tied the game with a two-run homer in the 7th, but the ‘Dogs lost 6-5 when Gio Brusa hit an RBI single in the 9th inning.
Long’s homer tied the game at 4 with one in the 7th inning and forced a second extra-innings game for the ‘Dogs in 2022.
After Skyler Weber gave Lincoln a 5-4 lead on an RBI groundout in the 8th, Lake Country tied the game on a squeeze play in the bottom-half. The ‘Dogs failed to score in the 9th and Brusa’s game-winning single came after the ‘Dogs intentionally walked T.J. Bennett to lead the bases with one out.
Lincoln fell behind 2-0 after three innings before back-to-back RBI doubles from Norris and Weber tied the game in the 4th. Lake Country’s Jordan Schaffer broke the tie with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom-half of the inning.
The ‘Dogs fell to 0-2 in extra-innings games, both of which have come on the road this year.
Lincoln returns home to open a nine-game home stand on Tuesday night. First pitch against Milwaukee is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and pregame coverage will begin 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.