LINCOLN, Nebraska – Christian Ibarra singled and walked twice, but the ‘Dogs opened an eight-game road stretch with a 10-5 loss to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Newman Outdoor Field on Friday night.
The ‘Dogs halved an eight-run deficit with a four-run 8th inning. Tyler Moore singled in two runs with a two-out single before Forrestt Allday plated two more later in the frame.
The game was 3-0 after six innings. Fargo-Moorhead opened the scoring in the 2nd inning when Correlle Prime scored on an error by Josh Mazzola and Yhoxian Medina later doubled in Leobaldo Piña.
Prime later hit a two-run homer as part of Fargo-Moorhead’s five-run 7th inning. The RedHawks added two more in the 8th before Curt Smith singled in one final run in the 9th.
Smith had two hits – his fifth consecutive multi-hit game — and extended his hitting streak to a Saltdog-best 10 games. Randolph Oduber had two hits, including a double, and posted his first multi-hit game since July 3.
Saltdogs starter Ricky Knapp gave up five earned runs across 6.1 innings, and Tyler Herr gave up four runs over 1.1 innings. Rookie Josh Norwood retired the only batter he faced in his Saltdogs debut.
RedHawks starter Sebastian Kessay improved to 7-0 with six scoreless innings and three walks with six strikeouts.
The ‘Dogs and ‘Hawks wrap up the quick two-game set on Saturday afternoon. First-pitch time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., and pregame coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN Lincoln 101.5 FM/1480 AM.
The Saltdogs are playing their 19th season in Lincoln. All ticket and promo information can be found at saltdogs.com, and follow the ‘Dogs on Twitter/Instagram @saltdogsball.