BIRDS OUTDUELED BY LINCOLN IN SERIES OPENER
Lincoln, NE – Thr Sioux Falls Canaries found themselves on the wrong side of a pitcher’s duel Friday night, falling 4-0 at Lincoln.
The Saltdogs got on the board in the first inning when a lead-off double led to a sacrifice fly. Lincoln tripled its lead in the third with a Welington Dotel two-out, two-run homerun to right field.
The Saltdogs added another run in the seventh inning with a two-out double following a walk. Sioux Falls would load the bases with two outs in the ninth and get the tying run to the plate bur a groundout ended the threat and the game.
Lincoln starting pitcher Greg Minier tossed seven shutout innings and struck out nine while Sioux Falls’ Ty Culbreth allowed three runs in six innings of work. Tony Lanier struck out three in two innings during his professional debut and Nick Gotta collected two hits to lead the Birds offensively.
The Canaries are now 8-18 overall and now look ahead to game two of the three-game series Saturday night at 7:05pm.
