GARY, IN – The Lincoln Saltdogs (58-39) outhit the Gary SouthShore RailCats (55-43) by four but lost 4-1 on Saturday night at US Steel Yard.
The game featured a one hour and 27 minute rain delay in the middle of the seventh inning.
Shairon Martis and Derek Gordon combined to toss six innings and allow three runs on five hits. Gordon, who was activated from the disabled list on Saturday, made his first appearance since August 22nd.
The RailCats got the lead in the first inning. Alex Crosby started off the side with a double and Joey Havrilak followed with another hit to put runners on the corners. Cameron Newell knocked in Crosby with a sacrifice fly to plate the first run of the game.
The Saltdogs got the run right back in the top of the second. Christian Ibarra led off with a single and scored on a Nathaniel Maggio double to even the score.
Gary SouthShore retook the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Crosby singled, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a Newell sacrifice fly.
The next scoring happened in the bottom of the sixth inning. Newell walked and moved to third on a Colin Willis single to bring up Frank Martinez. The veteran hit a groundball to the right side to score Newell to make the RailCats’ lead three runs.
The RailCats capped the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh. They took advantage of an error and a wild pitch to get a runner to third base and Crosby hit another sacrifice fly to make it 4-1.
The Saltdogs secured a spot in the playoffs by clinching the Central Division championship on Friday.
The Saltdogs try to retake the series lead on Sunday. First pitch is at 6:10 PM with coverage beginning at 5:40 PM on ESPN 1480 and saltdogs.com.
Playoffs tickets are on sale and can be purchased at https://saltdogs.com/playoffs. For the latest information on the Saltdogs follow the team on Facebook and Twitter/Instagram @saltdogsball.