LINCOLN — Former Saltdogs’ slugger Ian Gac belted two home runs to lead the St. Paul Saints (31-8) to a 5-2 victory over Lincoln (14-25) in front of 4,187 fans at Haymarket Park Thursday night.
With the game tied at 2-2 in the top of the eighth, Gac bombed a three-run homer to left center to put the Saints in front 5-2.
Lincoln’s single-season long ball leader whacked a two-run shot to right in the top of the first.
The ‘Dogs battled back to tie the game with a run in the fifth and another in the seventh using the same combination: Ryan Wiggins driving home Brian Joynt.
Dustin Crenshaw (6-1) pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on 10 hits to earn the win. Kevin McGovern (2-2) lasted seven-plus innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits to suffer the loss.
The Saltdogs got two runners on base with two out in the bottom of the ninth before Ryan Rodebaugh induced a groundout to book his eighth save.
St. Paul dropped the opener but took the final two games to win their 12th straight series to begin the season.
The ‘Dogs open a seven-game road trip Friday night in Joplin at 7:05 p.m. Radio coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. on KFOR FM 103.3/1240 AM.