SIOUX CITY, Iowa—Falling behind as many as four runs, the Sioux City Explorers (58-32) scored six unanswered runs to down the Lincoln Saltdogs (34-55) 7-5 and win their 21st series of the 2025 campaign. Despite another rough outing from the five-spot in the rotation, the Explorers overcame a quiet start to rally and earn yet another comeback victory.
Peniel Otaño has struggled in the first inning all season long, sporting a 12.75 ERA in the opening frame entering the matchup, and the rubber match of this series was no different. Two pitches into the game, the right-hander served up an elevated fastball, and Danny Bautista Jr didn’t miss it, blasting it over the left field wall for the early 1-0 lead.
After allowing his 18th first-inning run of the campaign, Otaño worked through a 1-2-3 second inning, but the hardships continued in the third. With runners at the corners and one man down, Abdiel Layer fielded a roller to third and looked to start the double play, but his throw to second sailed into right field, allowing another run to cross the plate. Kyle Battle’s sacrifice fly, a batter later, put the Saltdogs in front 3-0 before the Explorers recorded their first hit against Greg Loukinen.
Sioux City finally collected its first hit when Maikol Escotto cracked a double down the left field line. Layer stepped into the box two batters later and grounded to deep short, and Drew Devine air-mailed the baseball over Neyfy Castillo’s head at first base, allowing Escotto to cross the plate and put the X’s on the board.
Lincoln earned the run back in the next half-inning and tacked on another unearned run in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. Ryan Beaird took over for Otaño in the fifth and struck out five batters over three innings, allowing the unearned run but putting together a dominant relief performance.
The X’s finally showed a sign of life in the bottom of the sixth inning when Austin Davis doubled to left-center on a ball that Kyle Battle misplayed. Vooletich stepped in next and worked the count full against Loukinen before hammering the left-hander’s payoff pitch just inside the left field foul pole, clearing the wall by inches to pull Sioux City within two.
Sioux City’s momentum carried into the eighth inning. Lefty reliever Dylan Beck, who took over for Loukinen with two outs in the seventh, walked Davis and Henry George to start the frame. The two speedsters executed a perfect double steal and provided the Explorers with a golden opportunity to tie the game with a single.
Vooletich couldn’t get the job done, as Beck retired him on an infield pop up, but D’Shawn Knowles pulled the X’s within one. The Bahamian outfielder put the ball in play, rolling over to third base, but Rolando Espinosa didn’t field the baseball cleanly, allowing Davis to score and George to advance to third.
Lincoln’s manager Brett Jodie elected to go with Ethan Bates to work out of the jam, but the move didn’t pay off. Facing Josh Day, the rookie right-hander’s 1-1 offering bounced far enough away for George to come home and tie the game. The next batter, Michael Quiñones, lined a single into center to plate Knowles and give the Explorers their first lead of the evening.
Sioux City scored another run later in the inning to go up by two. Steve Montgomery brought in Felix Cepeda in the ninth inning and struck out the side, claiming his league-leading 23rd save. With the victory, Sioux City’s magic number to clinch the West Division fell to seven and their lead over Kansas City jumped back up to four games.
The Explorers head on the road to face the Sioux Falls Canaries on Friday and Saturday before returning home on Sunday to play them again. For media requests, please feel free to reach out at 817-739-3693. Tickets for all Explorers home games can be purchased online as XSBaseball.com or in person at the Lewis and Clark Box Office.
Notes from the Booth with DV:
-Sioux City finished the season series with Lincoln at 9-4.
-Sioux City leads the West Division by four games over Kansas City with 10 to play.
-Austin Davis stole his 54th base and leads Jarius Richards of Gary SouthShore in the American Association by two.
-The X’s have 246 stolen bases for the season.
-Sioux City’s magic number is 7 for the West Division crown but with the tie breaker it is six against Kansas City.
-The X’s made seven errors in the last two games after making none in the series opener.
-The Explorers are 10-2 when Clubhouse Manager John Witt wears “jorts”.
-Austin Davis extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
-True rookie Ben DeTaeye from the University of Iowa picked up the relief win while another true rookie Ryan Beaird from Tarleton State worked three solid innings of relief.
-Felix Cepeda struck out the side in the top of the ninth for his 23rd save.
