AA Sioux Falls Canaries

Late Runs Finish Canaries, 9-3

June 20, 2007 - American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release


Lincoln, NE - The Sioux Falls Canaries (24-14) dropped their second straight game to the first-place Lincoln Saltdogs (27-9) on Wednesday night at Haymarket Park. The Saltdogs scored early and often on their way to a 9-3 win.

The Saltdogs took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Pichi Balet got aboard with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Bryan Warner. Brett Cooley singled to score Balet and Josh Patton singled to score Warner. The pair of runs gave Lincoln an early 2-0 lead.

Lincoln added to their lead in the fourth inning. The Saltdogs loaded the bases on singles by Aaron Mendoza and Balet, with Tony Garcia getting hit by a pitch in between. With the bases loaded, Warner hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Mendoza and give the Saltdogs a three run advantage, 3-0.

The Canaries got on the board in the seventh inning. Wil Quintana led off with a single and Abner Arroyo followed with his fourth homer of the season. Arroyo's homer pulled the Canaries within a run, 3-2.

The Saltdogs came back with two of their own in the bottom of the seventh inning. Josh Patton drew a two-out walk and Seth Pietsch hit his fourth homer of the season to put the Saltdogs back in front by three, 5-2.

Lincoln pulled away with four runs in the eighth. The Saltdogs loaded the bases on a single by Mendoza, a walk to Carlos Gallardo, and an error by Canaries reliever Kelly Casares. Pichi Balet singled to score Mendoza and Gallardo for a 7-2 lead. Later in the inning, with the bases again loaded, an error by Canaries second baseman Cameron Coughlan allowed two more runs to score. After eight innings, the Saltdogs led, 9-2.

The Birds got a run in the ninth. Sioux Falls loaded the bases on singles by Arroyo, Ben Van Iderstine, and Tim Marks. Coughlan drove in his first run of the season with a sacrifice fly to score Arroyo, but the Birds failed to score again in the 9-3 loss.

Kevin Cheppenko (2-3) gave up four runs on ten singles in 6.2 innings to suffer his first loss since May 23. Josh Kauten (4-0) pitched 8.1 innings to get the win for Lincoln.

The Canaries and Saltdogs will wrap-up their three-game series on Thursday night at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, NE. Pat Mahomes will take the mound for the Canaries against Dan Reichert for the Saltdogs.

The Birds return home on Friday night to host the El Paso Diablos in the first game of a three-game series. Friday night's game will feature a post-game fireworks display presented by Schoeneman's Lumber.

Check out the Sioux Falls Canaries Statistics



American Association Stories from June 20, 2007


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