LINCOLN, NE – The Lincoln Saltdogs and the American Association jointly announced the 2018 schedule today. The schedule will fit a new two-division format.
The league decided to move from a three-division to a two-division setup at their league meetings in Sioux Falls, SD in the first week of October. The top two teams from each division will meet in best-of-five semifinals, with the winners meeting in a best-of-five championship series.
“Moving to a two-division format enables the league to create a more equal schedule, with teams playing divisional rivals the same number of times. We expect greater competition and balance from the new setup,” league commissioner Miles Wolff said.
The Saltdogs are joined in the South Division by the Cleburne Railroaders, Kansas City T-Bones, Sioux City Explorers, Texas AirHogs and Wichita Wingnuts. The North Division is comprised of the newest organization in the league, the Chicago Dogs, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, Gary SouthShore RailCats, St. Paul Saints, Sioux Falls Canaries and Winnipeg Goldeyes.
Each team will play two home series and two away series against their divisional foes. They will play one home series and one away series against cross-division opponents. The league is maintaining its 100-game regular season schedule.
The Saltdogs open 2018 with a seven-game homestand starting on Thursday, May 17th. They will play the Sioux City Explorers for four games before the Wichita Wingnuts come to Haymarket Park to finish the homestand.
Lincoln will finish the regular season with three games at the Chicago Dogs in Rosemont, Illinois. The final home series is August 29-31 against the Cleburne Railroaders.
There will be slight changes to first pitch times for home games in 2018. Monday-Thursday games will start at 6:45 PM but Friday and Saturday games will begin at 7:05 PM. Sunday home games will be played at 1:05 PM.
The Saltdogs are the reigning Central Division Champions. 2017 was the 17th season of Saltdogs baseball in Lincoln. For offseason information on the Saltdogs, follow the team on Facebook and Twitter/Instagram @saltdogsball.