LINCOLN, Nebraska – John Sansone hit a walk-off double in the 15th inning, Ricky Knapp tossed seven innings and gave up just one run, and the ‘Dogs took the series with a 3-2 walkoff win over the St. Paul Saints at Haymarket Park on Wednesday night.
Sansone doubled in Curt Smith, who was hit by a pitch to leadoff the inning, and drove in his sixth run of the year in the ‘Dogs first walk-off win of 2019.
Knapp tossed seven innings a night after Nick Tepesch became the first ‘Dog starter to pitch into the 7th inning, and his only blemish came with two outs in the 7th, when Burt Reynolds hit his first homer of the year to tie the game.
Christian Ibarra also hit his first homer of 2019, a solo shot that opened the scoring in the 1st inning.
The ‘Dogs fell behind 2-1 in the 10th inning when the Saints pushed a run across on a wild pitch, but the deficit could’ve been worse had Nick Schulz not thrown out Max Murphy trying to score on a single to left the batter before.
Lincoln tied the game again in the bottom of the 10th when Cody Regis slugged a two-out, RBI single down the right-field line and Colton Burns – who was pinch-running for Ivan Marin – came around to score.
Tyler Anderson tossed a scoreless top of the 15th and eventually earned his first professional win.
The ‘Dogs now hit the road for a six-game roadtrip beginning in Kokomo, IN against the Milwaukee Milkmen at Kokomo Municipal Stadium on Friday afternoon. First pitch time is 1:05 p.m. CT, and pregame coverage will begin on ESPNLincoln.com (online radio stream only for Friday’s game) at 12:35 p.m.
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.