LINCOLN, NE – The Winnipeg Goldeyes pitching staff rolled into Saturday's tilt feeling great, coming off a two-run performance the night prior. However, on a sunny afternoon on the campus of the University of Nebraska, it would be the hometown Lincoln Saltdogs who would prove to have the higher hand, winning 9-3.
The scoring started early for the Saltdogs when the leadoff batter of bottom of the second inning homered off Goldeyes starter
Zac Reininger. Two more solo blasts would be hit in the third and fourth innings giving Lincoln a 3-0 lead. Another couple of runs followed in the bottom of the fifth from an RBI single, and two-run double pushing the lead to 6-0. Three more runs would come into score from an RBI triple, and a couple of RBI groundouts to move the total runs for Lincoln to nine.
The Goldeyes runs were few and far between.
Andy Armstrong provided the Fish with their first run of the ballgame in the top of the seventh on an RBI double scoring
Ramón Bramasco from first base cutting the deficit to five runs. In the top of the ninth, the Goldeyes put pressure on by loading the bases. An RBI walk by
Keshawn Lynch brought in a run, and an RBI hit-by-pitch scored the second run of the inning by
Adam Hall. What would’ve been a big inning for the Goldeyes turned for nothing due to the Saltdogs’ pitcher needing the inning to end on a predetermined pitch count.
Reininger got the start today for Winnipeg. The right-hander from San Antonio, Texas went four innings giving up three runs, all on solo home runs. Left-handed pitcher
Tasker Strobel was first out of the bullpen, a shaky start to his outing ended up with three runs scoring on his watch. He did settle in and got a quick one, two, three in his second inning of work.
Grant Townsend made his spring debut twirling two innings of his own. A couple of unlucky breaks led to back-to-back extra-base hits which both runners ended up scoring on. Finally,
Brady Schanuel threw in the final two innings. After not throwing a competitive pitch for a season, he looked a little all over the place but finished strong without giving up a run.
Post-game,
Logan Watkins was understanding of his pitching staff’s scuffle in the second exhibition game of the young season. “What to take away from today, I think Reininger looked pretty good. Gave up a couple of solo shots. Tasker had a tough inning and then bounced back and had a scoreless inning. So it was good to see a couple of other guys kind of getting a knock on some rust off.” Watkins continued. “Schanuel hasn't thrown in a couple of years. So, on the pitching side, you gave up whatever it was nine runs today, but still feel pretty good about what I saw. As far as hitting goes, we only scratched out three runs today but had 11 hits. So, because it's still I think guys are getting their timing down a little bit and starting to get comfortable in the box. So we didn't win today but still feel pretty good about and feel good that we're making some progress.”
Ryan Holgate had three hits of his own which led the ballclub for the day. Watkins mentioned that he likes what he sees out of his young outfielder. “Really excited to have him (Holgate). I think he's got a lot of upside. I know he told me before he got to Winnipeg that he had barely gotten any at-bats, so hopefully the more we keep throwing them out there and more at-bats he gets the more comfortable he's going to get so it was really nice to see him hit some balls hard today.”
The Goldeyes and Saltdogs meet again Sunday in Lincoln with the first pitch slated for 1:05 p.m. The pregame show will get underway 12:30 on CJNU 93.7 FM and cjnu.ca.
The Goldeyes begin the 2024 season on the road versus the Cleburne Railroaders on Thursday, May 9. The Home Opener is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m. against the Chicago Dogs at Blue Cross Park.
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