Oconomowoc, Wis. – The Lake Country DockHounds kept the most potent offense in the American Association at bay once again on Wednesday night, winning 5-1 over the Cleburne Railroaders to grab the series.
Aaron Hill singled to lead off the third inning and stole both second and third base, bringing his team-high total to 22 on the season. With two outs in the frame, Ray Zuberer III plated Hill with an RBI double – and extended his on-base streak to 26 games in the process – before Daunte Stuart singled him home. Brian O’Keefe then slugged his fifth home run of the season to give Lake Country a four-run lead.
The Railroaders scored an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning, but it was all they could muster against Brett Conine. In six innings, he allowed four hits and walked two while striking out five batters.
“We executed really well tonight, top to bottom,” said Conine. “It starts with Brian [O’Keefe] behind the plate, my stuff was working, and I trusted my defense. We made a lot of great plays tonight.”
Trey Riley spun a scoreless seventh inning before Luke Roskam singled to lead off the bottom half and stole second base, his sixth bag of the year. Freddy Rojas Jr. laced a ball to the right-center field gap for his first double with Lake Country, trading places with Roskam to bring it to a 5-1 ballgame.
Bryce Bonnin and Robert Gsellman threw the final two frames of scoreless action, striking out three more between the two.
Lake Country (40-28) returns to WBC Park on Thursday night against Cleburne, searching for its fourth sweep of the year after already securing the season series over the Railroaders. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. with Luke Hansel getting the ball.
