LINCOLN, NE – Alex Glenn smacked two home runs and the Lincoln Saltdogs beat the Sioux Falls Canaries 5-2 in front of 3,891 fans at Haymarket Park.
Three of the Saltdogs’ (33-38) six hits were homers, helping the team to break its three-game skid despite allowing 10 hits. Former Canary Joe Bircher earned the win for the Saltdogs. The lefty scattered 10 hits and held Sioux Falls (27-44) to two runs over six innings.
The Canaries’ offense broke through first. Jordan Dean and David Bergin each doubled to produce the first run third inning. Two batters later, Maxx Garrett singled to put runners on the corners. Then, Chris Grayson ripped a base hit to make it 2-0. With two outs, Mitch Glasser lined a base hit to right field sending Garrett heading to the plate. Saltdogs right fielder Randolph Oduber threw him out at home to end the inning.
The Saltdogs responded in the next half inning. Christian Ibarra and Glenn hit back-to-back two-out homers to tie it up. The players hit both shots to the opposite field. It was the fourth time this season the Saltdogs mashed consecutive homers.
Lincoln grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Dashenko Ricardo singled and Ibarra reached on an error to bring Glenn to the dish. The lefty lifted another homer, this one to right field, to give the Saltdogs the 5-2 lead.
The Saltdogs pitching took it the rest of the way. Bircher struck out four straight batters from the fifth through sixth innings. Relievers Derek Gordon, Shairon Martis and Jose Jose combined to throw three hitless innings to finish the game. Jose notched his ninth save by pitching a perfect ninth inning.
The Saltdogs try for the series win in the rubber match on Sundy. First pitch is at 1:05 PM with coverage beginning at 12:35 PM on ESPN 101.5 FM 1480 AM and http://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.