OCONOMOWOC, Wis. – The Lake Country DockHounds split Wednesday’s seven-inning doubleheader with the Kansas City Monarchs. Lake Country dropped game one 12-0 before regathering and taking game two 6-4 in Wisconsin Brewing Company Park.
As game one wasn’t one to remember, it was one to rebound from. The DockHounds were shut out for the fourth time this season behind a dominant Monarch starter. Ryan Hernandez led the Lake Country offense with two hits in game one.
Game two had a different story. After Kansas City jumped on DockHounds starter John Swanda for four runs in the first, the comeback began.
“I mean our team just knows what we have in store,” Hernandez said. “We know what we have in our clubhouse and I think that when we all put it together, we are a really hard team to beat.”
Hernandez kicked off the Lake Country offense with a sky-scraping home run to left, putting the DockHounds on the board. Marcus Chiu singled before Justin Lavey promptly drove a ball into the right-center field gap for an RBI double.
On Tuesday afternoon, the DockHounds activated 2023’s starting shortstop Demetrius Sims and by Wednesday he was already having his impact felt. Sims singled in the third and after he stole third, Hernandez came through again and drove him in with a single.
“Sims is the definition of a team guy,” Hernandez said. “He brings the energy to the locker room…Everyone feels good having another spectacular player on the team.
The DockHounds continued their rally into the fourth after Josh Morgan led off with a walk. After a sequence of plays later, the tying run was 90 feet away. After a pitch skipped in the dirt, Morgan’s gutsy instincts took over as he scored standing up.
Lake Country concluded their scoring onslaught with Blake Tiberi and Sims both crossing the plate in the bottom of the fifth. As the DockHounds persevered through an early four-run deficit, the morale entering the off day is a little bit higher.
“It’s definitely beneficial as everyone loves going into an off day coming off a win,” Hernandez said. “I’m just happy we got a dub.”
With Hernandez’s big day at the plate, he was named top dog in both games. Hernandez went 4-6 with a home run with two RBIs.
“It feels good but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Hernandez said. “I just went back to my original approach and trusted myself with all the extra work that we’ve been putting in… It’s all been paying off.”
The DockHounds kick off the weekend set against the Kane County Cougars at 6:35 p.m. Friday in Wisconsin Brewing Company Park.
