LINCOLN, Nebraska – Curt Smith hit a walk-off homer in the 12th inning, and the Saltdogs rallied to beat the Cleburne Railroaders 9-8 at Haymarket Park on Wednesday night.
Smith’s homer was his first since a go-ahead grand slam in the final inning on July 29th against Sioux Falls, and it was Lincoln’s second walk-off homer of the year.
The ‘Dogs tied the game in the 8th inning after Nick Schulz singled in Josh Mazzola and Daniel Herrera later drove in another with a groundout.
Lincoln hit four homers for the third time this year; Forrestt Allday had his first as a ‘Dog with a solo shot in the 1st, Cody Regis later hit a two-run homer in the 2nd and Josh Mazzola hit a controversial two-run homer down the left-field line in the 3rd.
The ‘Dogs used six pitchers in the game, and Austin Boyle tossed three scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts. Martire Garcia – who was in Cleburne for the first two months of the year – earned the win, and Ricky Knapp allowed five runs over 4.1 innings.
Mazzola had three hits and three runs scored, while Nick Schulz had two hits and two walks.
Randolph Oduber returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a hamstring strain on August 9th and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He was removed from the game in the 6th inning after reaching a three at-bat limit.
The win was Bobby Brown’s 400th as a professional manager.
The ‘Dogs and Railroaders play again on Thursday. First-pitch time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and pregame coverage will begin at 6:35 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.