SIOUX CITY — The Sioux City Explorers were in a deep rut to start the season, and they found themselves in last place.
They were at 3-9 and there weren’t many things going right for the Explorers. The Explorers pitching were giving up too many runs while the hitting wasn’t where manager Steve Montgomery wanted it to be.
When the Explorers were down in the bottom of the division, Montgomery didn’t panic or try to release those guys for new ones.
“We really dug ourselves out,” Montgomery said. “We played .650 baseball over the last six weeks. It came down to three teams. I don't feel like the better team won, but you have to give them credit. We’ll be back next year."
He just asked his men in the clubhouse to do their jobs. He asked them to not do too much and trust the guy behind him in either the lineup or the bullpen.
It wasn’t smooth sailing after that simple message, as the Explorers either kept biting the injury bug and teams kept finding ways to beat the Explorers.
The low point of the Explorers came on July 23 when they were 24-36.
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Montgomery kept supporting his guys and hammered home the same message on a daily basis: Just do your job.
He kept saying in both the 3-9 mark as well as 24-36 that if the X’s could get close to .500 in the win-loss record.
Since July 23, the Explorers went into Game 100 with a 25-14 record, and had a plus-48 run differential.
There were some key moments in that winning streak, too.
On that July 23 night in Lincoln, Montgomery became Sioux City’s all-time winningest manager and passed longtime X’s manager Ed Nottle on the all-time wins list.
Montgomery won his 427th game at Haymarket Park.
The Explorers also had 16 come-from-behind wins, including a couple memorable walk-off home runs mixed in with some game-winning hits.
“We were so resilient,” Montgomery said. “We really dug ourselves out. It really came down to three games. I don’t feel like the better team won, but you have to give Lincoln credit. We’ll be back next year. To be sitting here at 49-51, it’s just unfortunate.”
All that set the table for the Explorers, who were going into the final day of the season with their postseason chances at stake for the third straight season.
The Explorers found themselves in a wild-card playoff atmosphere on Monday with a 49-50 record.
The Explorers and Lincoln Saltdogs played for the fourth and final playoff spot at Lewis and Clark Park on Labor Day, and the Saltdogs labored 10 runs to ruin the home team’s dream in a 10-1 score.
Lincoln scored four times in the first inning, and they killed any juice that was in the dugout and the crowd.
Justin Byrd led off the inning with a walk, and Rayder Ascanio advanced Byrd from first to third base on a hit-and-run.
Ryan Long drove in Byrd on a double play, but did not earn credit for an RBI.
Later on in the inning, Luke Roskam had an RBI single, Josh Altmann an RBI double and Skyler Weber ended the four-run rally with an RBI single.
Lincoln tacked on its fifth run in the second inning. Ascanio drove in Hunter Clanin on an RBI single.
Montgomery went to the bullpen earlier than he wanted.
“We’re just obviously extremely disappointed,” Montgomery said. “It wasn’t for a lack of preparation. It wasn’t for a lack of effort. Lincoln played well. You’d want to go back and take back Saturday and Sunday’s games. But, good for them. They got into the playoffs.”
Not long after the Saltdogs recorded the final out, Montgomery came out of the clubhouse, through the tunnel and onto the field, seeing the road team douse the grass and dirt with champagne and beer.
He watched the scene for a few seconds before turning to the media for his final in-season interview.
He wanted to take in Lincoln’s celebration so he could replay it in his mind when preparing for the offseason.
Montgomery said he was going to start on the 2023 roster as early as Tuesday, knowing the hard work it takes in the offseason just to get the guys going when the season starts in the spring.
“You have to use it as motivation going forward,” Montgomery said. “It’s motivation for next season. This will be fuel for me and my coaching staff. There’s a lot of tears being shed in that clubhouse, no doubt about it. It’s not the way you want it to end, but in this game, there’s winners and losers.”
Gabe Snyder was one of the top hitters in the lineup, and he ended the season with 54 RBis. The everyday first baseman played in 87 of the 100 games, and he hit .259 and also led the X’s with 18 home runs.
“It’s been a long year and it just didn’t end up going our way,” Snyder said. “That’s all we can ask for. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve come together as a team. It’s just been a great year. There were so many moments. It was a real joy to be here.”
Trey Martin was second in RBIs with 51. The former Cubs prospect hit .292 in 90 games, and he was two hits away from the century mark.
Blake Tiberi played in all but two games. He hit .254 with 46 RBIs.
As a team, the Explorers hit .266 with 98 homers and 456 RBIs.
Sioux City’s pitching department recorded a 4.87 earned run average.
Kevin McCanna, the Opening Day starter, won the most games with 10. McCanna had a 4.55 ERA in 118 2/3 innings.
Patrick Ledet was second in innings pitched at 113 2/3.
Ledet had a 6-4 record in 19 darts with a 4.28 ERA. He was one of two All-Stars on the X’s roster.
Closer Thomas McIlraith was the other. He appeared in 40 games — including Monday’s loss — and walked away with a 5-5 record and 19 saves. McIlraith struck out 69 batters.