LINCOLN, Nebraska – LHP Abdallah Aris struck out a season-high nine hitters in a quality start over six innings, and the ‘Dogs beat the Kane County Cougars 9-4 at Haymarket Park on Friday night.
Aris’s nine strikeouts were the most for any ‘Dogs starter this year and Lincoln (33-32) snapped a three-game skid with a win against Kane County (32-34) in the opener.
Lincoln scored in the 1st inning when former Cougar CF Nick Anderson made it 1-0 with an RBI double. 1B Jason Rogers, in his 2023 debut after playing the second half of the year with Lincoln in 2022, then made it 2-0 with an RBI groundout.
The Cougars got a run back on 1B Todd Lott’s solo homer in the 2nd inning, but Lincoln scored four times in the 3rd. Anderson singled in one run before Rogers added another run on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1.
Later in the inning, LF Aaron Takacs drove in a run with a single and 3B Will Kengor scored on a passed ball to make it 6-1.
The ‘Dogs scored three more in the 4th inning. Kengor made it 7-1 with an RBI single and DH Nate Samson added two more with a two-run single.
Kane County got two runs back on a two-run triple from LF Jonah Davis in the 5th and another solo homer from Lott in the 8th.
Aris picked up the win and is now 4-2 on the year, while RHP R.J. Freure struck out the side in order on in relief in the 7th inning. LHP David Zoz allowed one run over the 8th and 9th innings.
C Luke Roskam reached all five times in the game, extending his on-base streak to 31 – the longest active in the league.
The series continues Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. and pregame coverage begins at 5:35 on KFOR FM 101.5/1240 AM.
The Saltdogs are back in 2023! Single-game tickets for all games are on sale now. Reserve your seats now by calling 402-474-BALL (2255) or order on-line at Saltdogs.com.