The Lincoln Saltdogs had to be a little discouraged after Wednesday’s loss. They had a four run lead coming out of the first inning, only to see it dwindle away in a 6-4 loss. Winnipeg starter Chris Salamida struggled through the first, then handcuffed the Saltdogs batters for seven scoreless innings before turning the game over to Brendan Lafferty to close out the game. Lincoln had to feel like they let that one slip away.

Thursday night the Saltdogs found themselves jumping out in front again, but this time they had ace starter Marquis Fleming on the hill. Surely the lead would not vanish this night, especially when the team staked Fleming to a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the third. The right-hander looked like he was on, but the Saltdogs had to be wondering if an 81-minute rain delay was also going to put a damper on the ability for their starter to continue to pitch with success. It didn’t take long for Fleming to show his team he was up to the task.

Lincoln took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Bryan Joynt doubled to lead-off the inning against Ethan Hollingsworth. The next hitter, Jeremy Hamilton, drilled a 1-0 pitch from Hollingsworth up the middle driving Joynt home and giving the Saltdogs the early lead.

In the third Lincoln would get to Hollingsworth again. Tyler Smith led off the inning with a double as well, but a fly out by Chad Mozingo and a ground out by Luis Nunez had Winnipeg feeling pretty confident that Smith would remain stranded. Matt Forgatch came to the plate and delievered a clutch single up the middle to score Smith however, and the team from Nebraska was in the driver’s seat.

Fleming was in command from the start. He walked two in the first inning, but a double-play ended the threat. In the second he breezed through a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the last two batters of the frame. He was on top of his game, and staked to a 2-0 lead he had to be feeling pretty confident about his chances of bringing home a victory in this one. Then the rain came.

The nearly hour-and-a-half rain delay kept Fleming on the sidelines cooling off. It was the kind of delay that ends a starter’s night early, because of how long they have had to sit. At the very least, that long without activity can ruin the sharpness of a pitcher’s stuff, but Fleming was having none of that.

He returned after the rain subsided and after giving up a lead-off single to catcher Luis Alen, he retired the next three hitters in order to end the threat. He needed just seven pitches in the third, showing that he was ready to do battle.

In the fourth he gave up a one out single, only to see that runner negated on a 4-6-3 double-play. The righty needed just eight pitches to retire the side in that frame. He looked incredibly sharp, but in the fifth he found himself living on the edge.

Prior to Fleming taking to the hill in the fifth, the Saltdogs would add an insurance run, a run, it would turn out, that was crucial in Lincoln winning the game. Hollingsworth gave up back-to-back singles to Mozingo and Nunez to lead-off the inning. Forgatch then hit a flyball to center field that allowed Mozingo to reach third. That brought MVP candidate Ian Gac to the plate. Gac grounded to third where Goldeyes third baseman Jake Blackwood made a nice play on the ball. He threw to second for the second out of the inning, but the throw to first was not in time and Mozingo scored to increase the lead to 3-0. A crucial third run was in.

In the bottom of the inning, Fleming returned to the hill, and after retiring the first two batters of the inning, Alen singled for the second time in the game. Ryan Pineda followed with a single of his own, and the Goldeyes had a real threat brewing, especially considering that they were back at the top of the order and Brock Bond was up. Fleming was not about to relinquish a lead he had worked so hard to get, and after a strike and a ball, Bond popped out the third baseman to end the inning, and keep the lead 3-0.

In the sixth Fleming allowed two runners to reach base again, but the double-play continued to be his friend, ending the inning on the twin-killing and maintaining the 3-0 lead. In the top of the seventh, however, Winnipeg would finally get on the board. Donnie Webb led off the inning, and on a 1-1 pitch he homered to cut the lead to 3-1. This may have unnerved some pitchers, but not Fleming. He retired the next three in order and the seventh ended with Lincoln leading.

That would be the last inning of work for the righty. He finished the night allowing just one run on six hits and three walks, while striking out four. He had only thrown 87 pitches, but the long-delay created a situation where the team had to be careful with their ace, and that is what they decided to do.

In the eighth inning Trey Barham took over Fleming, but he would last just three batters. Bond walked and Blackwood followed with a single to put runners at first and second with none out. Tyler Kuhn then hit the first pitch from Barham for a fielder’s choice, scoring Bond on the play, and pulling the Goldeyes within one. That would be all for Barham. Jhonny Montoya took over and retired the final two hitters to preserve the one-run lead.

In the ninth, Lincoln turned to record-setting closer Marshall Schuler to finish out the game. He retired the first two hitters before giving up Alen’s third single of the night. Pineda then grounded to first to end the game, and give Schuler yet another save.

For the Saltdogs the victory changed the series dramatically. Because the Goldeyes had the better record on the season, they had the choice of deciding to play the extra game at home, or to start out the series at home. They chose to play the first two games in Winnipeg, figuring they would move to Lincoln only needing one victory. Now they must win two on the road to move on in the playoffs. While this may be a daunting task for many teams, it must be remembered that Winnipeg actually won more games on the road (33-17) than they did at home (30-20), proving that they are true road warriors.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Lincoln. The Goldeyes will throw Nick Hernandez, the league leader in wins with 12, against Kevin McGovern.

By Robert Pannier
Senior Baseball Editor
Member of the IBWAA

Lincoln Saltdogs Winnipeg Goldeyes
		R H E Lincoln 3 11 1 Winnipeg 2 8 0

Pitching Stats

Lincoln
#	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
25	Fleming, M	7.0	6	1	1	3	4	1.29
22	Barham, T	0.1	1	1	1	1	0	6.75
12	Montoya, J	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0.00
11	Schuler, M	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0.00
		9	8	2	2	4	5

Winnipeg
#	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
29	Hollingsworth, E	7.0	11	3	3	2	1	3.86
44	Aguilar, G	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
34	Lafferty, B	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
		9	11	3	3	2	1