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Sermo, Zawada, Harris and Samson Twice Go Deep in Win

Sioux City, IA (June 6, 2021) – On a windy Sunday afternoon the Sioux City Explorers picked up their second three game sweep of the season after a long battle against the Lincoln Saltdogs 10-8.

Justin Altmann and Ryan Long started the Lincoln Saltdogs scoring with a single to center field and a sacrifice fly to score a pair making it 2-0 Saltdogs. Lincoln in all three games of the series drew first blood. 

In the bottom half of the first, Joseph Monge hit an RBI single to center and cut the X’s deficit in half 2-1.

Nate Samson and Chase Harris in the second inning both hit solo home runs to give the X’s the lead 3-2. Samson had entered the contest having never hit a home run against the Saltdogs in his career through 53 games. 

In the bottom of the third, Sebastian Zawada smashed a two-run nuke to center field, his third home run of the season giving Sioux City a 5-2 lead. 

Jose Sermo, continuing his hot hitting weekend, hit a solo bomb over the right field fence for his fourth homer of the series. In the sweep, Sermo was 7-12, with four homers, eight RBI and seven runs scored. 

After hitting his first career home run against the Saltdogs in the second inning, Samson did it again with another laser to left to make it a 7-2 ball game in the fifth. 

Sioux City in total hit five homers in the ball game all of them coming off of Saltdogs starter John Richy (1-1) who was handed the loss as he gave up seven runs in five innings, on 12 hits with five strikeouts and three walks. 

Despite all the back and forth Patrick Ledet (2-0) ended up walking away with the win for the X’s as he tossed five innings of two run ball, surrendering seven hits and two walks while striking out four.

The game turned in the seventh inning as the Saltdogs loaded the bases with nobody out. Sioux City turned to lefty Jose Velez who got them out of the jam by striking out two and getting Allday to ground out to second to end the threat. 

However in the bottom of the seventh Sioux City succeeded where Lincoln could not in the top half. The X’s had bases loaded with one out and proceeded to score three runs on a hit batter and a couple of walks. In fact the X’s had just one single hit, a Samson double, in the inning. 

Nate Samson ended the day going four for five with two homers and a double, driving in two and scoring three times. 

Lincoln made the game interesting in the ninth as back to back walks to open the inning caused the X’s to turn to their closer Matt Pobereyko. Curt Smith lined a two out double down the left field line to score the two runs making it 10-8. But Pobereyko got out of the ninth with no further damage done earning his sixth save of the year. 

The X’s will start a new series tomorrow, Monday, June 7 against the Chicago Dogs, the X’s will send righty Xavier Altamirano (0-1, 9.00) to the bump and will be up against right hander Garrett Christman (1-0, 7.10) for the Dogs. First pitch is set for 7:05 pm.