Lincoln, NE (Canaries) — The Canaries won a suspended game from Saturday night, then topped Lincoln in their regularly scheduled Sunday afternoon contest to improve to a season-high 13 games over the .500 mark.
The Birds opened the day with a 3-1 victory as four Canaries combined to toss a one-hitter. Josh Rehwaldt doubled with two outs in the first inning and scored on a single from Mike Hart. The Saltdogs tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth but Rehwaldt crushed a homerun to straightaway centerfield in the sixth to put Sioux Falls in front for good.
Derek Maiben walked to begin the eighth inning before scoring on a Jabari Henry double and Charlie Hasty tossed a scoreless ninth frame to earn his eighth save. Neil Lang worked four innings of relief and struck out three to improve to 2-0 while Rehwaldt finished the contest with three hits.
The Canaries scored four runs in the seventh inning to capture the series with a 6-1 triumph.
Rehwaldt drilled a two-run homerun in the first inning but Lincoln answered with a solo shot in the second. Hunter Clanin walked to begin the bottom of the seventh before Scott Combs reached on a throwing error. Clanin scored on a sacrifice fly from Liam Spence and Wyatt Ulrich drove in Combs with a single. The Birds went on to load the bases and Trevor Achenbach added two more runs with a base hit.
Ty Culbreth allowed a run over six innings and struck out five to collect his league-leading eighth win. Clanin and Rehwaldt each finished with two hits as the Canaries improve to 32-19 on the season. The Birds return to the Bird Cage to open a six-game homestand Tuesday night at 6:35pm.
