SALTDOGS USE PITCHING TO SHUT DOWN KC 7-0 IN YORK

YORK, NE – Five Lincoln Saltdogs pitchers combined to throw a shutout as the Saltdogs beat the Kansas City T-Bones 7-0 at Levitt Stadium in York on Friday night.

The ‘Dogs hurlers allowed just two hits in the game.  Derek Gordon set the tone on the mound, going four innings and surrendering just two hits.  Brian Smith tossed two scoreless frames next.  Then, Leland Tilley, Eric Wooten and Jose Jose combined to retire the final nine T-Bones batters in order.  Saltdogs pitchers struck out 11 batters.

The Saltdogs offense clicked early.  Brandon Jacobs reached on an error in the bottom of the second inning and scored on an opposite-field home run by Chase Simpson.  Then, Christian Ibarra drew a walk and Dashenko Ricardo singled to put runners at the corners for Ivan Marin.  The second basemen, who had just nine RBIs all of last season, smacked an RBI double to make it 3-0.  Two batters later, Angel Reyes notched a two-bagger to score a couple more runs.

Simpson went yard one more time.  The slugger pulled a home run over the right field fence in the third inning to make it 6-0.

The ‘Dogs tacked on a final run in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Jake Wark was hit by a pitch and scored when the T-Bones’ right fielder misplayed a Nathaniel Maggio single.

The Saltdogs did their damage on nine hits and had runners reach base in all but two innings.  Lincoln did not commit an error while Kansas City made three miscues.

The exhibition was one of three preseason home games played outside of Lincoln.  The York contest was sponsored by Coffin Wealth Management.

The Saltdogs continue their trek of four exhibitions in five days by hosting the Sioux City Explorers tomorrow night in Norfolk.  First pitch is at 6:30 PM at Veterans Memorial Field.  Play by play of the game will be broadcast on https://saltdogs.com/stream.

The Saltdogs are set to begin their 18^th season in Lincoln on Thursday, May 17^th.  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.