Loukinen and Castillo Lead Lincoln To Series Finale Victory

Sioux Falls, South Dakota-   The Lincoln Saltdogs defeated the Sioux Falls Canaries 4-2, Thursday night at Sioux Falls Stadium.  Greg Loukinen earned his third straight victory, while Neyfy Castillo hit his seventh home run of the season, as the Saltdogs salvaged the final game of the series.

Lincoln (23-27) scored four runs with eight hits and committed one error.  Sioux Falls (28-21) had two runs off six hits and no errors, in a game that lasted two hours and forty-three minutes in front of 590 fans.

The Saltdogs jumped on the board in the top of the first.  With one out, Brody Fahr singled off Sioux Falls starter Cade Torgerson.  Then, Kyle Battle singled to put runners at first and third.  The next batter, Neyfy Castillo, hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Fahr, to make it a 1-0, Lincoln lead.

In the top of the second, Lincoln plated another run.  Clint Coulter led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch.  Then, Drew DeVine singled.  After a sacrifice bunt by Rolando Espinosa, Max Hewitt hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Coulter, to put the Saltdogs up, 2-0.

Lincoln added a single run in the third straight inning, to extend the lead.  Brody Fahr led off the inning with a walk.  Then, Kyle Battle doubled, scoring Fahr, to make it a 3-0, Lincoln lead.

The Canaries responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.  Joe Vos led off the inning with a walk against Lincoln starter Greg Loukinen.  Vos stole second, then took third on a wild pitch.  After a Matt Ruiz ground out to third, Trevor Auchenbach hit an RBI double, scoring Vos, to make it 3-1.  The next batter, Josh Rehwaldt, doubled, plating Auchenbach, to make the score, 3-2.

The Saltdogs got a big insurance run in the top of the fifth.  With two outs, Neyfy Castillo hit a towering fly ball, off the first pitch from Torgerson, out of the park to left, to make it a 4-2, Lincoln lead.

The lead remained the same going into the bottom of the ninth.  Lincoln reliever Matt Mullenbach got Drey Dirkson to pop out in foul ground to Brody Fahr at third, for the first out.  Then, Mullenbach struck out Joe Vos swinging for the second out of the inning.  Matt Ruiz reached on an infield single to extend the game.  However, Mullenbach struck out Trevor Auchenbach, swinging, to end the game.

Lincoln starter Greg Loukinen (4-4) earned the win, pitching 5.0 innings, giving up two runs off four hits, struck out three and walked four.  Franny Cobos pitched 2.0 innings and gave up one hit.  Connor Langrell pitched 1.0 inning and hit one batter.  Matt Mullenbach (2) earned the save, pitching 1.0 inning, giving up one hit and struck out two.

Sioux Falls starter Cade Torgerson (2-3) took the loss, pitching 5.0 innings, yielding four runs off six hits, struck out one and walked two.  Ryan Zimmerman pitched 3.0 innings, yielding two hits and struck out two.  Ryan Richardson pitched a clean ninth inning.

Offensively for Lincoln, Brody Fahr was 2-for-4.  Kyle Battle was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Neyfy Castillo was 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBIs.  Max Hewitt was 1-for-4 with an RBI sacrifice fly.

The Canaries were led by Trevor Auchenbach who was 1-for-5 with an RBI.  Josh Rehwaldt went 2-for-3 and drove in one.

Sioux Falls will continue its homestand by hosting the Milwaukee Milkmen on Friday.

Lincoln travels to Kansas City to take on the Monarchs as part of its nine-game road trip.  Game one of the three-game series at Legends Field, in Kansas City, Kansas, begins Friday night at 6:35 p.m.  RHP Johnny Blake (3-1, 4.04 ERA) will pitch for Lincoln.  Kansas City has not yet announced their weekend starting pitchers.  Friday night’s game will be broadcast on KFOR 101.5 FM/1240 AM with live audio streaming at:  www.kfornow.com.  Live video of the game will air at:  www.aabaseball.tv.

The next Saltdogs home game is Friday, July 11^th, when Lincoln returns to Haymarket Park to play the Chicago Dogs, at 7:05 p.m.  That game is a “Fireworks Friday” game, with the post-game extravaganza.  Also, it’s “Free Shirt Friday”, with shirts thrown into the crowd, sponsored by Abante Marketing.  In addition, there will be a Saltdogs Socks Giveaway, sponsored by Schaefer’s.  For tickets, merchandise, and promotional information, go to:  www.saltdogs.com.