Ryan Ladika/MDN The Sabre Dogs will look to build upon their current six-game win streak during their next road trip beginning June 23.

A homestand-opening series against the Canyon County Spuds was exactly what the doctor ordered for a Souris Valley Sabre Dogs squad that had fallen upon some rough times away from Corbett Field as of late.

Before the team’s three-game sweep of the Spuds June 14-17, Souris Valley had sputtered to a 2-4 record on its most recent road trip June 8-13 following a series victory against the Spearfish Sasquatch to open the June home schedule.

The brief speedbump in the Dogs’ June began with a 13-2 home defeat at the hands of the Badlands Big Sticks June 7, and the two squads would later split a pair of contests in Dickinson.

Another series loss away from the friendly confines of Corbett Field awaited Souris Valley, this time to the Sioux Falls Sunfish June 11-13. The Dogs’ lone win in Sioux Falls came in the form of a 18-13 slugfest that saw the teams combine for 33 hits.

The team returned home and opened a three-game series against the Spuds June 14 and promptly returned to its winning ways. The squad swept the series from its sixth-place division rivals, outscoring Canyon County 38-17 on the strength of a pair of blowout wins. Souris Valley then welcomed the Pierre Trappers to the Magic City and racked up three more wins to build its win streak to six straight.

The Dogs kicked off the homestand with a 12-1 victory over the Spuds June 14, utilizing a six-run fourth inning that saw 11 men take their hacks in the frame. Catcher Taylor Justus, second baseman Ethan Moore and left fielder Cadyn Schwabe each tallied a multi-hit evening, and the team drew nine walks against just four strikeouts to complement its offensive barrage.

Following a Tuesday off day, the two teams continued the series June 16. Head coach Alex Miklos tabbed left-hander native Eric Wallington for his second outing of the season, and he provided his club with four solid frames, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out four en route to a 6-5 victory.

In search of the sweep on June 17, the Sabre Dogs again broke out the lumber and took it to Canyon County. The team scored at least once in every inning and totaled 15 hits in a decisive 20-11 win.

Souris Valley doubled its win streak with three more wins against the Pierre Trappers to conclude the homestand, outscoring Pierre 33-19 June 18-20. First baseman Beau Brewer led the offensive charge throughout the series, earning seven hits in 12 at-bats and driving in six runs.

On the mound, Dominick Parkhurst and Kyle Bratset were instrumental in the Dogs’ sweep. The duo combined for 12.1 innings of three-run ball, good for a 2.23 ERA, in the first two games while yielding nine hits and striking out nine.

The team has a pair of days off Monday and Tuesday before embarking on another road trip against the Hastings Sodbusters and Fremont Moo June 23-27. The 6-16 Sodbusters sit in last place in the Clark Division, and Fremont has lost three games in a row to fall out of first place, sinking to 16-6 and a game and a half behind the Western Nebraska Pioneers.