Sioux Falls, S.D. — Nine of the last ten games for the Lake Country DockHounds are victories, showing their power in an 11-7 win over the Sioux Falls Canaries.
Ryan Hernandez homered twice for the second consecutive day and sixth time this season, bringing his grand total to 26, which leads the American Association by six.
“It feels like I’m watching a video game,” Josh Altmann said about Hernandez. “We all know that talent that he has, and when he is locked in, it’s a ton of fun to watch.”
Two other long balls were hit by Lake Country, also solo shots by Chavez Young and Altmann.
Four homers are certainly nice, but a majority of the damage was done with two outs. While Young’s first home run with Lake Country came with two down, six other runs came home with two down, including the last five.
The first run-producing hit with two outs occurred in the fourth inning after three had already scored when Blake Tiberi singled up the middle. He then came home, barely beating the tag at the plate, on a double by Young to complete a five-run frame.
Samuel Benjamin walked to extend the fifth inning for Luke Napleton, who lined a two-run single into center field and set up another 2-out knock for Tiberi to bring a DockHound home. In 95 games last season as arguably the best player on the DockHounds, Tiberi totaled just 33 runs batted in. His 2-RBI performance tonight has him up to 34 in just 73 starts this year.
Curtis Terry then added the final run of the night for Lake Country in the sixth inning with a two-out single to score Demetrius Sims. All nine starters for Lake Country either scored or hit a runner home, with six doing both.
A DockHounds win combined with a Milwaukee Milkmen loss means Lake Country is now tied for the final playoff spot in the east division. With 24 games to go in 2024, whichever of the two teams can win more games in the final quarter of the season will make the Miles Wolff Cup Playoffs. The two are also only 2.5 games behind the Chicago Dogs for third place, which is also worth mentioning.
“We have to do what we set out to do since the break, which is control what we can control,” Altmann said. “We know how much talent is on this team.”
Bryan Bonnell returns to the mound for the first time in over a month as the DockHounds go for their first ever road sweep on Thursday at 4:05pm.
Your DockHounds return to WBC Park on Friday as part of Margaritaville Weekend. Get your tickets now and don’t miss the Jimmy Buffet tribute party of the year.
