SIOUX CITY, Iowa— The Sioux City Explorers (22-13) capped off a four-game sweep of the Lincoln Saltdogs (14-21) with a thrilling 4-3 walk-off win Sunday afternoon at Lewis and Clark Park. Abdiel Layer played the hero, delivering a game-winning single in the ninth to lift the Explorers to their fourth straight victory.
Just like both games of the doubleheader on Saturday, the Saltdogs saw home plate first. Danny Bautista Jr led off with a double. Two batters later, Kyle Battle singled him home.
Jared Wetherbee didn’t have his best stuff for Sioux City but scratched and clawed his way through five innings. He allowed a run in the second inning but got some help in the third, thanks to the new acquisition, Armando Alvarez.
Freshly signed from the Triple-A St. Paul Saints in the Minnesota Twins organization, Alvarez delivered a devastating blow on a 1-1 pitch from Lincoln’s starter Greg Loukinen and crushed a homer over the left field wall to tie the game. This was Alvarez’s first big fly in an unaffiliated league.
Lincoln jumped on Wetherbee in the very next half-inning. Rolando Espinosa singled, advanced to third base on Jack Cone’s single, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Saltdogs a 3-2 lead.
Loukinen didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, and Wetherbee’s outing finished after six. Lincoln and Sioux City went to their bullpens. Brett Matthews and Ben DeTaeye both worked through scoreless appearances, but Chase Jessee took the bulk of the relief work. The lefty out of Malone University struck out five of the six batters he faced across two scoreless innings.
With two outs in the sixth inning, the X’s offense finally sparked to life. The Explorers put runners on first and second, turning the lineup over, and brought Josh Day to the plate.
The shortstop came through and smoked a single to center field, driving in Toribio and evening the contest at three a piece.
Day had a chance to give the Explorers the lead in the eighth with two on and two out. Reliever Connor Langrell worked ahead of him 0-2 and induced a fly ball to center field, ending the inning and keeping the score tied at three.
Jessee sent the Saltdogs down in order in the ninth and Dutch Landis (0-3) tried to do the same in the bottom half of the inning and send the game to extras. Sioux City loaded the bases with three consecutive hits in the bottom of the ninth and Abdiel Layer came up with a chance to walk it off.
The X’s third baseman poked a 1-1 pitch into left center field, ending the game and completing the four-game sweep of the Lincoln Saltdogs. With the victory, the X’s climb to nine games over .500.
The Explorers are off on Monday and then embark on a six-game roadtrip facing Fargo-Moorhead and Winnipeg. 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.