LINCOLN, NE – Two Lincoln Saltdogs errors led to two unearned runs for the Kansas City T-Bones as KC claimed the series win with a 2-1 victory at Haymarket Park Tuesday night.
Eric Wooten picked up the loss for the Saltdogs (27-23) despite going seven innings and giving up just six hits. The southpaw induced three double plays and struck out three batters. Tommy Collier rivaled Wooten, going seven innings and allowing one run on six hits. He struck out eight batters compared to just one walk.
Kansas City (32-17) got on the board in the second inning. Keith Curcio notched a two-out double to bring up Dexter Kjerstad. The outfielder grounded to third base but Christian Ibarra threw low to first base and Nathaniel Maggio was unable to dig out the throw. The error sent Curcio home to make it 1-0.
The Saltdogs responded in the next half inning. Curt Smith and T.J. Bennett collected consecutive base hits to start the frame. Then, Randolph Oduber knocked in a run with a single to tie it up. He has reached base in all 20 games with the Saltdogs and has driven in 15 runs.
The pitchers dominated until the seventh inning. Wooten walked Adrian Nieto to start the inning. KC bunted him to second base and he moved to third on a groundout. Next, Mason Davis hit a fly ball to right field that bounced off Angel Reyes’ glove to score the go-ahead run.
Derek Gordon tossed two shutout innings of relief for the Saltdogs to give the bats a chance in the ninth. Maggio drew a one-out walk but could not advance past first base as Joe Filomeno secured the save for the T-Bones.
Lincoln left six runners on base in the final five innings and struck out four times with the tying run in scoring position.
The Saltdogs look to salvage a game from the series on Wednesday night. First pitch is at 6:45 PM with coverage beginning at 6:15 PM on ESPN 101.5 FM 1480 AM and saltdogs.com/stream.
For more information on the Saltdogs, follow the team on Facebook and Twitter/Instagram @saltdogsball. For ticket information visit https://saltdogs.com/tickets/ or call (402) 474-2255.