Oconomowoc, Wis. – The Lake Country DockHounds kept the best offense in the American Association quiet for a third-straight game, sweeping the Cleburne Railroaders with a 4-1 victory on Thursday night.
Brian Rey worked a two-out walk and scored on an RBI single from Derek Maiben in the second inning to give Lake Country the lead. Luke Roskam then led off the fourth inning with his sixteenth double of the year before stealing his seventh base of the season.
Maiben came up with another productive at-bat, hitting into a fielder’s choice to the right side to plate Roskam and extend the lead to two runs. He advanced on Hayden Dunhurst’s single before Ray Zuberer singled through the right side, extending his on-base streak to 27 games in a row.
The Railroaders slugged a solo home run in the fifth off of Luke Hansel, but it was the only damage off of the All-Star righty.
Ryan Hernandez responded and led off the fifth inning with his twelfth home run of the season, seven of which have come against Cleburne, his former squad.
All nine members of the lineup reached base safely while eight DockHounds recorded a base hit, including two each from Maiben and Roskam. The two, along with Zuberer and Daunte Stuart, all stole a base as well. Stuart’s season total climbs to 20 swipes.
Luke Hansel’s night ended after 104 pitches through seven innings. On the night, he scattered eight hits and a walk while striking out eight batters – the most in an outing for him since May 20th.
“It was a battle, but we all executed the way we know how,” said Hansel. “That was a huge sweep, now we have to build on it.”
Chris Jefferson and Robert Gsellman each picked up a strikeout in a scoreless relief frame while Gsellman earned his fifth save of the year. It was the second time all season he had pitched in back-to-back days for the DockHounds.
Lake Country (41-28) hits the road for a three-game weekend set against the Gary SouthShore RailCats before returning to Wisconsin Brewing Company Park on Monday for seven games in seven days in Oconomowoc. First pitch on Friday at the U.S. Steel Yard is at 6:45 p.m.
