LINCOLN, Neb—D’Shawn Knowles put on a show at the plate as the Sioux City Explorers (48-25) cruised past the Lincoln Saltdogs (28-44) with a 7-2 win. The outfielder delivered one of his most dynamic performances of the season to help Sioux City stay 5.5 games clear of Sioux Falls atop the West Division.

The Explorers got the ball rolling in the top of the first inning, with D’Shawn Knowles knocking in Austin Davis with an RBI single. Luis Toribio made it 2-0 on his second extra base hit in as many at-bats with a ground-rule double to left center.

Knowles—just getting started in this contest—demolished Johnny Blake’s 2-1 delivery deep to right field for a two-run shot. The blast was one of the longest of the season for any Sioux City Explorer, clearing the deck seating in right as the X’s upped their lead to 4-0.

Kyle Marman worked through four scoreless frames but allowed the first two batters to reach in the bottom of the fifth inning. Danny Bautista Jr’s fly ball moved the runners into scoring position, and Brody Fahr’s sacrifice fly put Lincoln on the board. The next batter, Mikey Kane, singled to center, driving in another as the Saltdogs cut the X’s lead in half in the fifth.


Sioux City rebounded in the following half-inning as Abdiel Layer belted his seventh home run of the season, chasing Blake from the game. The Saltdogs brought in former Triple-A arm Matt Mullenbach to replace their starter, and he finished the inning without any further damage.

Marman fired seven strong in his outing, notching his 11th quality start of the season and his third outing with 10+ strikeouts before giving way to rookie left-hander Ben DeTaeye in the eighth. The former Iowa Hawkeye recorded two outs before veteran Nate Gercken finished the frame.

Knowles blasted another two-run home run into the X’s bullpen in the top of the ninth, capping a four-hit, five-RBI night from the Bahamian outfielder. Sioux City carried a 7-2 lead heading into the last of the ninth inning.

Gercken stayed on in the bottom of the ninth to close it out for Sioux City, and he retired the side without an issue. With the victory, Sioux City pulls within two wins of 50. Lake Country and Sioux Falls are the two closest teams, each with 42 wins after their wins on Friday.

Box Score

The Explores continue their three-game series Saturday against the Lincoln Saltdogs. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m. Ticket packages for the 2025 season are on sale now, including Full and Half-Season Tickets as well as 10-, 15-, and 25-game Flex Packs. For more information, please call the Explorers front office at 712-277-WINS. Stay tuned to the Explorers’ social media channels and the club’s website, xsbaseball.com, for all our news and updates.