LINCOLN, NE – The Lincoln Saltdogs crushed four home runs and tallied 15 hits on the way to a 14-6 win over the Winnipeg Goldeyes at Shaw Park on Monday night.
Derek Gordon earned the win in his best effort of the season. The Lincoln-native allowed just one run over six innings while fanning six batters. Alex Boshers picked up the loss after letting up the first five runs of the game.
Gordon had plenty of run support thanks to the Saltdogs’ (6-5) sluggers. Chase Simpson hit two home runs, Nathaniel Maggio added a solo shot and Christian Ibarra launched the first grand slam of the season. Every Saltdogs player recorded a hit.
The offensive explosion started in the first inning. Angel Reyes and Brandon Jacobs each picked up hits while Curt Smith lined a ball off of the third baseman to score the first couple runs.
Winnipeg (6-4) got their first run next. The Goldeyes took advantage of Gordon’s only two walks to plate a run on a Reggie Abercrombie single to make it 2-1.
The blowout started after that. Smith ignited a two-out rally in the top of the fifth with a single. Then, Maggio went the other way to double him in. The next two batters reached to load the bases and Dashenko Ricardo cashed in with a single up the middle to make it 5-1.
Chase Simpson kept the barrage going in the sixth. The switch-hitter notched his first right-handed homer of the season building the lead to five runs.
Lincoln blew the game open in the seventh. Maggio started things off with a solo shot. The next three batters reached to bring up Ibarra. The third baseman smoked a grand slam brining the lead to 10 runs and it wasn’t over yet. Two more batters reached and Simpson pounded his second long ball of the game, this time left-handed, to make it 14-1. In all, the first eight batters all touched home before Winnipeg recorded an out and the Saltdogs scored eight runs on seven hits and sent 12 batters to the plate.
The Goldeyes scored five runs off the combination of Jose Jose, Brian Smith and J.R. Bunda over the final three innings to draw the score to 14-6.
The Saltdogs set season highs in runs scored, home runs, hits, batters in an inning and margin of victory.
The two squads continue the four-game series on Tuesday. First pitch is at 7:00 PM with coverage beginning at 6:30 PM on ESPN 101.5 FM 1480 AM and 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.