Lincoln Wins Series with Gary

LINCOLN * The Lincoln Saltdogs jumped on Gary pitching in the first inning and never let up scoring 15 runs on Thursday night including four in the first inning to pick up the 15-7 victory and extend their lead to 3.5 games in the Southern Division standings.

Rodney Myers got his ninth win of the year to lead the Saltdogs rotation. He pitched six innings of work and didn't allow a run while striking out three batters. Cody Fisher (0-2) took the loss lasting only 4 1/3 innings and allowing five earned runs.

In the first inning, the Dogs put four runs across. Cory Harris started the inning off with a single and the next two batters got on base for Lincoln. Pichi Balet picked up two of his five RBI's on the night with a single to left-center field. Dan Underwood finished the scoring in the inning with an RBI single.

With the score 7-0 going into the fourth inning, Cory Harris took the first pitch of his at-bat out of the park for his 20th homer of the year. Harris continues to set the Dogs all-time records for most home runs in a season which was 18 before this year. A two-RBI triple by Balet finished the inning for Lincoln giving them a 10-0 lead.

In the top of the eighth Fehlandt Lentini was able to break the Saltdogs' shutout. He reached on an error to begin the inning and Dale Mueller drove him home with an RBI double.

Four more runs were scored by Lincoln in the bottom half of the eighth inning. Kevin Sullivan and Jay Yaconetti both drew walks and scored on RBI's by Cory Harris and Gabe Suarez. Bryan Warner cleared the bases with an RBI double to give the Dogs a total of 15 runs on the night.

Byron Embry came on in the ninth inning to finish the game for Lincoln. He retired two of the first three batters he faces with strikeouts but then allowed the next six runners to reach base, giving Gary a six run inning and resulting in the final score of 15-7.

The Saltdogs continue their 10-game home stand on Friday when they start a four game series with the St. Paul Saints who are tied for second place in the division with the RailCats. First pitch time is set for 7:05 p.m. with Brian Rodaway taking the hill against Mike Meyer.

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