Saltdogs Lose Series to Gary

LINCOLN, Neb. - A four run second inning wasn't enough for the Lincoln Saltdogs to overcome another multi-error day at Haymarket Park. The Gary SouthShore RailCats defeated the Dogs 5-4 in 10 innings on Thursday night to complete the sweep of the series. Travis Kerber (2-0) picked up the win going two innings of scoreless relief work for the Cats. Jared Hoerman was charged with his first loss of the season dropping his record to 1-1.

The Saltdogs broke the 0-0 tie in the bottom of the second inning. Jake Whitesides started the inning with a single. Mike Goss moved him over to second with a sacrifice bunt. After stealing third, Whitesides came home on a hard hit double down the third-base line from Albenis Machado. With a runner on first base Kevin Sullivan gave the Dogs a 4-0 lead with a hard hit homer that almost left Haymarket Park, his fifth long ball of the season.

Gary picked up a run of their own in the third inning with two outs. Anthony Iapoce hit a two-out double and scored on a hard hit ground ball from Tanner Townsend that got past Machado at shortstop.

In the eighth and ninth inning Gary was able to pick up three more runs to tie the game and force extra frames. With one on in the eighth, Tanner Townsend knocked out his fifth homer of the year to bring the Cats within one. In the next inning they took advantage of two straight errors by the Saltdogs to plate the tying run.

The RailCats wasted no time in extra innings to plate what would be the winning run. Townsend started with a one-out single and he was followed by another single from Scott Samuels. With runners on the corners, Darin Kinsolving hit the RBI that scored Samuels and the eventual game winner.

Lincoln will head out for a seven game road trip starting in Gary on Friday. Humberto Cardenas is schedule to start for Lincoln in the first game of the series.

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Saltdogs Lose Third Straight Game

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Gary SouthShore RailCats used another six-run inning to cement their 9-7 victory against the Lincoln Saltdogs on Wednesday night. Derek Lopez picked up the win for Gary (18-13) going one inning in relief of started Greg Bruso. Lincoln starter Michael Kesten was charged with the loss for the Saltdogs (16-15). He went 7 1/3 innings and allowed five earned runs.

The Saltdogs got on the board early in their second meeting with the RailCats of Gary. In the bottom of the first inning Lincoln sent eight men to the plate against Bruso. Cory Harris started the inning with a double down the third base line. Harris has now reached safely in every game for the Dogs this season. He was followed with a pair of RBI singles from Jake Whitesides and Bryan Warner to give the Dogs an early 3-0 lead.

Gary responded in the top half of the next inning with their second six run inning of the series. A majority of the Cats runs in the inning came off miscues from Lincoln as four Gary runs came from three errors in the inning.

More runs came for the Dogs in the bottom of the fifth inning. A one out double from Pichi Balet started the run for Lincoln followed by an RBI double by Josh Patton. Another single by Mike Goss put runners on the corners with one down for Albenis Machado. Machado came through with a first pitch blooper into left field scoring the second run of the inning.

Another run came in the sixth as the Dogs put two hits together. Harris hit a one out single up the middle and after advancing to second on a ground out came home off an RBI single from Warner. After six the Dogs trailed by only one run, 7-6.

In the seventh the Dogs squared the game at 7-7. Patton started off the inning with a single and was driven in by a ground ball RBI from Jason Corapci.

In the eighth inning the RailCats took the lead right back. With one down, Jay Pecci crushed a Michael Kesten pitch over the left field wall for a 9-7 Gary lead.

Gary and Lincoln will complete their three-game series on Thursday night at Haymarket Park. Brian Rodaway will take to the hill for Lincoln while Gary will counter with Jamie Bennett; start time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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Railcats Defeat Lincoln in Game #1 of Series

LINCOLN, Neb. - Hitting the long ball helped lead the Gary SouthShore RailCats over the Lincoln Saltdogs on Tuesday night. Home runs from Tanner Townsend and Jason Colson lifted the Cats (17-13) to a 10-2 victory over the Dogs (16-14) in front of a crowd of 4,357. Willie Glen improved to 1-1 after going six innings and only giving up a pair of runs. Adam Lesko (1-4) only lasted three innings for Lincoln allowing five earned runs in the loss.

Scoring began in the third inning as the RailCats got two across the plate. Eric McNamee began the inning with a single and scored when Townsend crushed a 0-1 pitch from the Lincoln starter over the wall in left field.

Gary continued a strong hitting performance when the team hit for the cycle in the fourth inning. Jason Colson crushed the first pitch of the inning into the back wall of the right field bullpen for a 3-0 lead in favor of Gary. But the RailCats weren't done scoring. Steve Haake continued the inning with a single and scored when Alex Taylor hit a shot down the first baseline and came around to third base. Jay Pecci finished the cycle for the Cats with a double into the right-field gap scoring Taylor. In all 12 Cats came to the plate in the inning with six runs crossing the plate.

The Saltdogs broke through Gary pitching in the fifth inning. With one down Jake Whitesides singled back up the middle to bring Albenis Machado to the plate. Machado took the first pitch from Willie Glen high and out of the ballpark for his third four bag hit of the year.

In the sixth inning the parade of home runs continued as Colson hit his second long ball of the night to left field. He took the 2-1 pitch from Saltdogs reliever Kyle Ruwe out of the park for his sixth of the year.

Lincoln and Gary continue their series on Wednesday night with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. Michael Kesten (3-0) will take the hill for Lincoln while Gary will send Greg Bruso (0-3) to the mound.

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Saltdogs Win Game #2 with St. Paul

LINCOLN, Neb. * What began as a pitchers duel ended with a Lincoln Saltdogs 5-0 victory over the St. Paul Saints and a complete game victory for Brian Rodaway. The former Husker pitcher improved to 5-1 and only allowing three hits and four walks. Darren Truty (3-1) was charged with his first loss of the year. He threw seven innings while giving up two earned runs.

In the bottom of the third inning the Saltdogs broke the 0-0 deadlock. Mike Goss started the Saltdogs with a lead-off single. He stole second base and advanced to third after an errant pick off throw from the catcher Jeremy Frost went into center field. Albenis Machado brought Goss home when he grounded out to second.

The Saltdogs took advantage of St. Paul errors in the seventh inning. Kevin Sullivan reached on a fielder’s choice and scored off a wild pitch from Truty. Goss followed with a single and was able to come around and score after a passed ball got past Frost.

Rodaway picked up more run support in the bottom of the eighth inning. Two walks started the Dogs threat with Cory Harris and Jake Whitesides reaching base. Harris came around to score off an RBI single from Warner to give Lincoln a 4-0 lead. Pichi Balet ended the scoring for the Saltdogs with a sacrifice fly to center field.

This was the first shutout of the year for the Saltdogs and the fourth complete game of the season for Rodaway who leads the Northern League in complete games. He has now gone 17 innings without allowing a run.

The rubber game of the three game series between St. Paul and Lincoln will be Sunday at 5:05 p.m. at Haymarket Park. Lincoln is now one game back of Kansas City for first place in the Southern Division.

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Lincoln Drops First Game With St. Paul

Saint Paul Saints Designated Hitter Nick Gretz took an Humberto Cardenas fastball (0-1) over the right center field wall at Haymarket Park in fifth inning to give the Saints a 3-2 lead over the Lincoln Saltdogs. Saint Paul would add another run to defeat the Lincoln Saltdogs 4-2 Friday night.
Saltdogs starter Humberto Cardenas (0-1) worked seven innings in his first professional start, gave up two runs, both earned, eight hits, walked two and struck out five batters in the loss. St. Paul starter Bryan Gaal (5-1) picked up the win and Matt Hammons notched the save (2).
St. Paul moves ahead of Lincoln in the Northern League's Southern Division with the win. The Saints now 16-11, while Lincoln drops to 15-12.
Lincoln's Cory Harris continued his hitting streak, which now stands at 17 games. Harris 1-4 an infield hit in the bottom of the first inning. Pichi Balet went 2-5 with an RBI.
Lincoln will host St. Paul in the second game of the three games series at 7:05 PM Saturday night at Haymarket Park.

Saltdogs Defeat KC in Game #3

INCOLN, Neb*The Lincoln bats came out in support of Brian Rodaway on Sunday night as the Lincoln Saltdogs (14-9) defeated the Kansas City T-Bones 9-3. Rodaway threw his third complete game of the season to improve to 4-1 on the year. Jonathan Krysa took the loss for the T-Bones (14-7) and fell to 1-4 on the year.

Eddie Pearson got the T-Bones started on the right foot with a three-run home run off the scoreboard in right field in the first inning. The hard hit jack was his ninth homer of the year and the second straight game the T-Bones score in the first inning.

Lincoln took over the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Cory Harris started the charge on a one out walk. Jake Whitesides followed with a double down the first baseline and both runners came home with a single from Bryan Warner, his 31st and 32nd RBIs of the season. Pichi Balet cleared the bases with his fifth homer of the year into the bullpen in right field giving the Saltdogs a 4-3 advantage.

The Saltdogs bats extended the lead for Rodaway in the fifth. With two on base Balet hit his second homer of the game and third in two days to get the lead to 7-3 Saltdogs.

Two more runs for the Dogs in the bottom of the sixth after Jason Corapci lead off with a double. Harris followed with a single to put runners on the corners. After Harris stole second Corapci scored on a wild pitch and Harris came home after an error on the first baseman.

Lincoln hits the road for a 7:05 p.m. match tomorrow with the Schaumburg Flyers in Schaumburg. The last time the two teams played was earlier this year at Haymarket Park where the Dogs took three out of four. Alex Carbajal will take the mount for Lincoln with R. J. Swindle starting for the Flyers.

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Saltdogs Lose Third Straight

LINCOLN, Neb.-A complete game effort from Greg Bicknell lifted the Kansas City T-Bones (13-6) to a 9-7 victory over the Lincoln Saltdogs on Saturday night. Bicknell improved to 4-0 on the year and gave the T-Bones a two game lead over Lincoln (13-9) for first place in the Southern Division. Gary Hogan took the loss for Lincoln going 6 1-3 innings and giving up six runs.

The first run in the match came without a hit for Kansas City. The first two batters reached on a walk and hit batsman. After a pass ball, Rick Prieto and Eric Vega advanced to second and third and both scored in the inning for a 2-0 T-Bone lead.

Lincoln sent their first run across the plate in the bottom of the second inning after Pichi Balet reached with a lead off double. He advanced to third on a ground ball to the second baseman and scored after a Jake Whitesides hit fell in front of Vega in right field.

Eddie Pearson added a pair of runs in the third inning when he crushed a Hogan pitch over the wall in right field giving Kansas City a 4-1 lead.

Matt Ceriani added his first home run of the year in the fourth inning to extend the T-Bone lead.

The Saltdogs got a run back in the fifth inning when Kevin Sullivan came around to score after he reached on a one out single. Cory Harris, who is on a 12 game hitting streak, brought Sullivan home with his 15 double of the year.

A total of eight runs came in the sixth and seventh innings for both teams. Ray Brown ended the scoring for the T-Bones with a two-out double that score a pair of runs. For Lincoln Pichi Balet hit a two run homer to left field to bring the Dogs within one run, but they couldn't close the gap.

The final game of the series is scheduled for a 2:05 p.m. start at Haymarket Park. Brian Rodaway will be pitching for Lincoln while Jonathan Krysa takes the hill for Kansas City.

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Saltdogs Drop Second Straight

For Immediate Release *

LINCOLN, Neb--It took one batter for the Saltdogs to get on the board. With a 3-1 count on him, Cory Harris smacked a pitch from Caleb Balbuena deep to left field and over the fence for the early lead. Two batters later Bryan Warner hit his own home run, the seventh of the season, in the same location as Harris.

The T-Bones one-upped the Dogs in the fourth inning with a home run of their own. This time a 3-run jack from Chad Sosebee, his fourth of the year to give K.C. the 3-2 lead.

Kansas City picked up another run in the top of the fifth inning after they loaded the bases on Kesten and Eddie Pearson hit a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Rick Prieto from third.

Lincoln rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the bottom of the seventh to tied up the game. Back-to-back doubles from Pichi Balet and Warner drove in the tying runs for the Dogs.

The game went into extra innings and became a pitcher’ duel between Fernando De Aza and Kansas City’s John Ortiz. In the top of the 16th inning, Chad Sosebee singled to center field then stole second base. Sean Flynn’s RBI single proved to be the game winner as he drove in Sosebee from second base

John Ortiz (1-0) picked up the win, while Fernando De Aza (2-1) took the loss. Kansas City is now 13-6 and in first place in the NL Southern Division. Lincoln drops their second straight game and goes to 13-7 on the season. Game #2 of the three game series is Saturday night at Haymarket Park at 7:05 PM.

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Saltdogs Streak Snapped

LINCOLN, Neb * A rain shortened victory for the Schaumburg Flyers ended their losing skid and stopped the Lincoln Saltdogs at six wins in a row. At the end of eight innings, the Flyers lead 2-1 when the rains came down to end the game. Raymond Jenkins picked up the win for the Flyers going six innings allowing only the one run. Jason Cierlik pitched the final two frames for Schaumburg to earn his first save and second of the year for the Flyers. Adam Lesko went the distance for Lincoln and allowed only two runs on two hits as his record fell to 1-2.

Chris Weekly opened the scoring in the game with his fourth home run of the year to left field.

Three straight singles started the Saltdogs’ second inning with Josh Patton, Kevin Grijak and Jake Whitesides all reaching base. However the inning came to a quick end with no runs as Albenis Machado grounded into a double play.

Lincoln finally put a run on the board in the bottom fifth. Bryan Warner singled and scored on a hit from Patton. Grijak continued the inning with his third hit of the day, a double to the right field gap. However the Saltdogs left the bases loaded and couldn’t take the lead.

In the top of the sixth Schaumburg took their second lead of the game. Eric Cole led off with a walk and came home on only the second hit of the game from Schaumburg, a double from Josue Lopez.

Lincoln finished with three wins in the series and they will continue their seven game home stand with the Kansas City T-Bones on Friday at Haymarket Park.

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Six in a Row!

For Immediate Release *

LINCOLN, Neb * The winning streak grows to six for the Lincoln Saltdogs as they pulled out an 8-5 victory over the Schaumburg Flyers on Wednesday night at Haymarket Park. Alex Carbajal was on the hill for the Dogs and went seven innings to get his second win of the season. Flyer started Rick DeHart (0-2) took the loss going six innings and allowing eight runs with four strikeouts.

After retiring the first seven batters he faced, DeHart got belted by the top of the Saltdog lineup in the third inning. A one out single from Albenis Machado put the first Dog on base. After the third strikeout of the game from DeHart, Cory Harris reached on a single, putting runners on the corners for Mike Goss. The first run crossed the plate off a Goss double and two more score with a single from Bryan Warner.

Cory Harris continued his hot streak in the bottom of the fifth inning when he took a 0-2 pitch from DeHart high and out of the park for his league leading eighth home run of the year. With the two hits Harris improved his average to .513 to lead all hitters in the Northern League. After five innings of play the Dogs had a 3-0 lead.

Tempers flared in the bottom of the seventh inning. After one run scored, Harris came to the plate and was hit by a 1-0 pitch from DeHart. As Harris was walking down the first base line, he and DeHart got into an argument and the benches cleared. After a five minute delay the teams returned to their dugouts. Goss began the action again with a double down the right field line, scoring two, and he advanced to third on the throw to home plate. After the double the benches cleared for a second time and delayed the game again. No one was ejected from the contest.

Schaumburg broke the shut out bid in the top of the eighth inning with the first three batters reaching base on Carbajal. Eric Cole cleared the bases with a three-run home run to right-center field. One more run came for Schaumburg in the inning cutting the Saltdog lead to 8-5.

Jarod Hoerman came on in the ninth inning to close the game for the Dogs. He allowed a triple to Geoff McCallum with one out but retired the next two batters to get the win.

Adam Lesko will take the mound for the Saltdogs in the final game of the series. Raymond Jenkins is slated to be the starter for Schaumburg at the 7:05 first pick on Thursday at Haymarket Park.

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Win Streak at Five Games

LINCOLN, Neb * On another windy night at Haymarket Park the Lincoln Saltdogs came back from a 2-0 first inning deficit to defeat the Schaumburg Flyers on Tuesday night 5-2. Brian Rodaway went eight innings allowing only those two first inning runs to improve to 3-1. Flyer reliever E. J. Shanks (0-2) picked up the loss.

Schaumburg shot right out of the gate in the top of the first inning scoring two runs on Rodaway, who had complete games in his last two outings. Geoff McCallum hit a one-out double and came around to score after the next batter, Eric Cole, singled to left field. The second run crossed with a gap double from Josue Lopez.

The Saltdogs shortened the Flyer lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the third. With two down and runners on the corners Bryan Warner lined a shot right back at the pitcher and through the infield, scoring Albenis Machado from third.

For the second time in as many days, designated hitter Kevin Grijak took a pitch over the wall in right field directly into a strong South wind. With Grijak’s second home run of the year, the Saltdogs knotted the game up at 2-2. Later in the inning Lincoln loaded the bases with Mike Goss in the box but the Dogs were unable to score.

Goss broke the 2-2 tied in the bottom of the seventh inning with a home run off Flyer reliever E. J. Shanks. Goss took the 1-0 pitch high in the air and hit the foul pole in left field giving the Dogs a 4-2 lead.

With a 5-2 lead going into the ninth, Jarod Hoerman came in to close out the game for the Saltdogs. After walking the only base runner of the inning, Hoerman induced a double play to end the game and pick up his second save of the season.

The win brings the Saltdogs into a tied for first place in the Southern Division with Kansas City.

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Saltdogs Win Fourth Straight

LINCOLN, Neb. * For the third time in four games, the Lincoln Saltdogs took the lead in the first inning and came away with a victory. With the 10-6 win over the Schaumburg Flyers on Monday night, the Saltdogs improved to 11-6 dropping the Flyers to 4-13. Gary Hogan took the mound for the Saltdogs going six innings to pick up the victory and improve to 2-1. Anthony Boughner took the hill opposite Hogan and was saddled with the loss, taking his record to 2-2.

After falling behind in the first inning, the Saltdogs rallied to put four on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Cory Harris, the leading hitter in the Northern League scored the first run for the Dogs en route to another strong performance going 2-4 with two runs scored. With the 2-4 day Harris kept his average at the .500 mark.

Scoring continued for the Flyers in the third when Geoff McCallum reached with a two out walk and came around to score on an Eric Cole double. Later in the inning Schaumburg was able to walk the bases loaded but Justin Hendrickson hit into a fielder’s choice at third base to end the inning with only one run scored.

Lincoln answered the Flyers’ run in the bottom of the third with a two run home run from Jake Whitesides giving Lincoln a 6-2 advantage.

Schaumburg was able to tie up the contest in the top of the fifth inning when Justin Hendrickson hit his own round tripper, a three run shot to knot the score at 6-6.

Brian Warner scored what would be the game winning run in the bottom of the fifth. He started with a double to right field and came home on Kevin Grijak’s third RBI of the contest, a ground ball single just past the outstretched gloved of Josue Lopez at first.

Insurance runs came in the bottom of the seventh as the Dogs took a 9-6 lead. Jake Whitesides picked up his third RBI of the night with a single up the middle, scoring two runs.

The Saltdogs will look to continue their four game winning streak in the second game of the four game set with Schaumburg on Tuesday Night at Haymarket Park. Brian Rodaway (2-1) will be on the mound for Lincoln while R. J. Swindle will start for the Flyers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Haymarket Park.

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