LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — Marquis Fleming turned in another solid outing to help the Saltdogs (26-26) gets back to .500 for the first time since May 23 with a 5-4 victory over the New Jersey Jackals (25-19) in an inter-league contest in front of 1,719 fans at Yogi Berra Stadium Friday night.
Marquis Fleming (5-3) pitched seven strong innings, allowing three earned on five hits while striking out seven and walking two to earn the victory.
Lincoln fell behind 2-0 in the first but capitalized on two Jackals errors in the second tie the game.
Luis Nunez gave the 'Dogs the lead on a monstrous solo shot with two out in the fifth, his second of the year.
After Jeremy Hamilton extended Lincoln's lead with a two-out, two-run double to right center in the sixth, the Can-Am league leaders chipped away with solo home runs from Joe Dunigan and Steve Nikorak in the sixth and seventh to make it 5-4.
Marshall Schuler worked a perfect ninth inning for his league-leading 17th save of the campaign. Lincoln now stands at .500 for the first time since they were 4-4 May 23.
The clubs are back at it Saturday night at 5:35 p.m. CDT for game two of the three-game series, with Lincoln aiming to improve to better than .500 for the first time since May 21. Radio coverage begins at 5:05 p.m. on KFOR 1240.