Lincoln, Nebraska- Wednesday night at Haymarket Park the Lincoln Saltdogs scored four runs in the third and two runs in the fourth, which led to a 6-1 victory over the Lake Country DockHounds. With the win, Lincoln won its second straight game and claimed its first series of the season.
Lincoln (6-12) scored six runs off seven hits with no errors. Lake Country (10-7) was held to one run off five hits and committed no errors.
The Saltdogs broke up a scoreless ball game in the bottom of the third. Facing Lake Country starter Brett Conine, with Brody Fahr at first, Kyle Battle singled to put runners at the corners. Then, Rolando Espinosa hit a two-RBI triple to the left-center field gap, plating Fahr and Battle, to put Lincoln ahead, 2-0. The next batter, Yusniel Diaz, hit the very next pitch from Conine off the top of the right field wall, and it bounced into the DockHounds bullpen for a two-run home run, putting the Saltdogs ahead, 4-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, with one out, Danny Bautista, Jr. singled. Two batters later, Kyle Battle hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left, to put Lincoln ahead, 6-0.
The DockHounds scored in the top of the fifth. Still facing Lincoln starter Johnny Ray, Demetrius Sims doubled. The next two batters, Aaron Hill and Joe Gray drew walks, to load the bases. Then, a passed ball scored Sims, to make the score 6-1.
In the ninth, Lincoln reliever Jacob Roberts recorded the first two outs before Joe Gray drew a walk. However, Roberts got Daunte Stuart to ground out to shortstop to end the game.
Johnny Ray (1-1) earned the win. He pitched 5.2 innings, giving up one run off four hits, struck out eight and walked four. Dylan Beck pitched 1.1 innings, striking out two and walking one. Franny Cobos pitched 1.0 inning, yielding one hit, and struck out one. Jacob Roberts pitched 1.0 inning and walked one.
Lake Country starter Brett Conine (0-3) took the loss. He pitched 5.0 innings, giving up six runs off seven hits, struck out one and walked two. Connor Fenlong pitched one clean inning. Will Sandy pitched 1.0 inning and struck out one. Robert Gsellman pitched 1.0 inning and struck out two.
Offensively for Lincoln, Danny Bautista, Jr. was 2-for-5. Kyle Battle was 2-for-2 with a two-run home run. Rolando Espinosa was 1-for-2 and drove in two runs. Yusniel Diaz was 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and ran his consecutive hit streak to six straight games.
For the DockHounds, former Saltdog and Nebraska Cornhusker Luke Roskam went 2-for-4.
Lincoln secured the series in a game that took two hours and thirty-eight minutes in front of 2.581 fans.
Lake Country returns to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin and will host the Winnipeg Goldeyes, beginning Friday.
The Saltdogs begin a six-game road trip Friday, at the Kane County Cougars. First pitch at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva, Illinois will be 6:30 p.m. LHP Greg Loukinen (0-2, 6.92 ERA) will pitch for Lincoln against a Cougar pitcher, yet to be determined. Friday night’s game will be broadcast on KFOR 101.5 FM/1240AM, and online at: www.kfornow.com. Live video of the game will stream at: www.aabaseball.tv.
The next home game for the Saltdogs will be Friday, June 6th, when Lincoln hosts the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Haymarket Park. First pitch will be 7:05 p.m. The game will be “Free Shirt Friday”, sponsored by Abante Marketing. Also, it will be “Saltdogs Sling Bag giveaway”, sponsored by Assurity. In addition, it will be the Lincoln Libraries Summer Reading Program Kick-off, plus, their will be post-game fireworks. For tickets, merchandise, and promotional information, go to: www.saltdogs.com.