OCONOMOWOC, Wis. – The Lake Country DockHounds returned to Wisconsin Brewing Company Park victorious Friday night as they led in the seventh inning defeating the Lincoln Saltdogs 9-6.
After the DockHounds scuffled the past couple of series, the offense appeared hungry. Lake Country pounced the Saltdogs’ starter en route to a three-run first. After collecting five hits, the DockHounds utilized the aggressive approach to slip past Lincoln.
“That’s what we want to do every time,” Demetrius Sims said. “We want to set the tone and put pressure on the defense early and often. That (first) set the tone for the rest of the game and hopefully we can build off that.”
The DockHounds welcomed back a familiar face in Curtis Terry. Terry reintroduced himself to the Lake Country faithful with a two-RBI double in the first inning, putting the exclamation point on the start.
The Saltdogs, however, rebounded well and tied the game at three before the DockHounds dealt a huge blow. After Deivy Grullon, Blake Tiberi and Justin Connell reached base, Sims launched a grand slam. Sims finished the day 3-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
“I think a lot of my success comes from what my teammates are doing in front of me,” Sims said. “Tiberi and Connell, drawing good at-bats, making the pitcher work and allowing me to see more pitches, it allows me to stay in my approach and take what the pitcher gives me.”
Sims has become one of Lake Country’s most prominent bats and has homered in back-to-back games. However, he credits the DockHounds’ hitting philosophy of “passing the bat.”
“We have a good offense and whatever the other team throws at us, or however many runs they may score, we as a whole, are confident to put up more (runs).”
As the DockHounds were able to carry a 9-4 lead entering the top of the seventh inning, Lincoln’s offense began to put pressure on the DockHounds. With the rain coming down hard and lightning illuminating the Oconomowoc sky, the umpires ultimately sent the game to a rain delay.
After the rain delay lasted nearly 45 minutes, the game was ultimately called, resulting in a DockHounds win.
“It’s always a great day when we can win,” Sims said. “All around, it was a great team win with great offense, good defense and good pitching.”
The DockHounds gladly embraced the win and will play the Saltdogs for game two of the series at 6:05 p.m. Saturday in Wisconsin Brewing Company Park.
Written by: Noah Douglas
