LINCOLN — Travis Parker was outstanding in relief and the bats were barking as the Saltdogs (35-30) beat Trois-Rivieres Aigles (28-34) 7-2 in front of 2,780 fans at Haymarket Park Thursday night.
Parker (2-1) pitched six innings of relief, allowing just an unearned run on three hits while striking out four and walking zero to earn the win. The Lincoln Northeast alum has not allowed an earned run in his last 13 innings.
Lincoln tied the game at 1-1 on a Curt Smith double in the third. The 'Dogs took the lead with a Tyler Goodro solo homer in the fourth and extended the advantage with three more in the fifth, highlighted by a Ian Gac two-run homer.
Gac finished the night 2-for-4 with three RBI. Goodro went 2-for-3 and Smith, David Espinosa and Mike Coles each booked multi-hit nights as part of a 14-hit barrage. All nine Saltdogs had at least one hit.
Matt Bywater looked terrific in his first start off the disabled list, striking out five over three innings.
Lincoln committed a season-high four errors, leading to two unearned runs.
The 'Dogs are back at it Friday night at 7:05 p.m. in the opener of a three-game home set with Sioux Falls. Radio coverage begins at 6:35 p.m. on KFOR 1240.