Dogs Storm Back from Early Deficit, Take Hefty Game One Victory
June 25, 2022 - American Association (AA)
Chicago Dogs News Release
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - An early deficit brought fear of a three-game losing streak, but a pair of home runs brought the Dogs back to life for a 11-5 win over the Lake Country DockHounds.
Chicago was coming off of a series against rival Milwaukee Milkmen in which they lost two of three and struggled pitching. In a steadily tight divisional race between the Dogs and Milkmen, it was important to get on track against a floundering DockHounds team on a seven game losing streak.
Danny Mars would not have any part of losing. The right fielder finished 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI. It was the first multi-home run by any Dog this season and his first home run since May 31. Grant Kay continued his powerful season with his team-leading seventh home run of the season, which gave the Dogs the lead.
It was not a pretty start for Jordan Kipper, but well enough to pick up the win. The righty tossed five frames and allowed five runs, four earned, walked two and struck out eight.
In the first, Lake Country left fielder Jake Snider collected the game's first hit with a leadoff double. He finished the game 2-for-3 with three walks. Gabriel Noriega drove in Snider off a single to put the DockHounds in front, 1-0.
Lake Country kept the offensive momentum going into the second when Snider tripled off Kipper to score two and bring the lead to 3-0.
That's when the Dogs fought back. The scorching hot Connor Kopach began the inning with a double, his first of two in the game. Kopach has hit four extra-base hits in the past four games to provide a spark at the bottom of the order. Michael Crouse then singled to bring in Kopach and cut the deficit to two.
In the fourth the Dogs continued that offensive steam with a leadoff single from Ryan Lidge. He advanced to second and newly acquired infielder Stevie Wilkerson drove him in. Wilkerson signed with Chicago from Mariachis de Guadalajara of the Mexican League and has 166 MLB games under his belt with the Baltimore Orioles. He ended his debut 3-for-5 with three runs and that RBI.
With Wilkerson aboard, Kay sent a line drive deep and over the wall for a home run and the lead. Lake Country starter Duncan Snider appeared rattled, but made it out of the inning without allowing another score.
That is until the next inning when the Dogs put together a similar rally. Chicago quickly got two runners on base and from there Mars did the rest. The right fielder smacked a three-run home run to extend the lead to 7-3, a complete turnaround from a few innings ago.
The DockHounds fought back with two runs of their own, but couldn't close the margin completely at inning's end.
Both teams went quiet offensively due to dominant bullpen outings, but with Jesse Remington on for his third inning against the Dogs, Chicago bit. Wilkerson hit his third single of the game and Mars again saw the opportunity to drive him in via the long ball. At the end of the night, Mars elevated himself back to the top of the East division in RBI at 37 total.
A pair of doubles from Kay and Kopach scored another run, and Kopach eventually scored himself from a Charlie Tilson fielder's choice.
Brian Schlitter came in for the final inning of work and continued the bullpen's scoreless night with a Zion Pettigrew groundout to second base.
Chicago wins this game after dropping two games versus the Milkmen. The offense continued its recent roll with three total home runs, tied for their single-game high. The Dogs will trot out Johnathon Tripp for Saturday's game, who appeared against Lake Country a week ago and pitched two innings with no earned runs allowed. The swingman last started on June 11 versus Kansas City and allowed three runs in three innings.
American Association Stories from June 25, 2022
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- Sweeney Shines in Monarchs' Win - Kansas City Monarchs
- The Secret Behind Connor Kopach's Power Surge: Comfort - Chicago Dogs
- Dogs Complete the Sweep Through Pure Power and Force, 14-0 - Chicago Dogs
- Dogs Snap Four Game Skid to Maintain Division Lead - Chicago Dogs
- Dogs Drop Third Straight, Get Swept by Kansas City - Chicago Dogs
- Dogs Storm Back from Early Deficit, Take Hefty Game One Victory - Chicago Dogs
- Chicago Cushions Victory in Ninth Inning Victory - Lake Country DockHounds
- X's Snap out of Skid in Texas - Sioux City Explorers
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