Written By: Noah Douglas
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. – Nothing could stop the Lake Country DockHounds from completing a sweep of the Gary SouthShore RailCats Thursday night, not even a 1.5-hour weather delay.
Entering the delay tied 1-1 in the third inning, the DockHounds got back to work on the RailCats. Behind a remarkable start from Brett Conine, the Lake Country offense only needed four runs to defeat Gary SouthShore. The DockHounds won 4-3, completing the series sweep of the RailCats in Wisconsin Brewing Company Park.
The Lake Country offense did just enough to clip the Gary SouthShore attack as Ryan Hernandez had another two-RBI day at the plate. In the second inning, Hernandez blasted his 22nd home run over the batter’s eye in center. After the RailCats tied it in the third, down came the rain.
With the delay lasting over an hour with fans and players getting antsy in the concourse, once play resumed, the DockHounds showed their grit – especially starting pitcher Brett Conine.
Conine started the game and had already tallied thirty pitches before the delay occurred. It is common to see starting pitchers removed from games after the long delay, however, not Conine. He became the first man out of the clubhouse to begin his routine of warming up, just for a second time.
After dealing in the first three innings, he continued to shove the next three. Conine’s line was an impressive six innings and allowed one run on three hits. He also collected seven strikeouts.
With Conine handling things on the mound, rookie mayhem commenced. Samuel Benjamin launched his second home run in a DockHounds uniform and Luke Napleton scored after JT Benson beat out a dropped third strike to first putting the DockHounds up two.
The RailCats showed a little bit of resistance themselves as they tied the game in the top of the ninth inning. With a two-run blast, the morale shifted on the field. However, the desire to win didn’t. Lake Country wasted no time in loading the bases before Hernandez stepped in and produced a game-winning sacrifice fly.
With the DockHounds’ winning streak now up to five, they will take on Fargo-Moorhead for a weekend bout. Lake Country will look to continue its winning streak at 6:35 p.m. Friday in Wisconsin Brewing Company Park.
