Third Time Is a Charm: Wingnuts Win First Title with 8-3 Victory
September 14, 2014 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, KS - It took a long time to reach this point, but in their third consecutive season reaching the American Association's Championship Series, the Wichita Wingnuts finally were crowned as the victors on Saturday night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Wingnuts came back from an early deficit as they did many times during the 2014 post-season on their way to an 8-3 win that allowed them to sweep the series from the Lincoln Saltdogs 3-0.
Right-handed starting pitcher Jason Van Skike, who was undefeated at home entering play, was jumped on early by an aggressive Saltdogs' lineup. Chad Mozingo led off the game with a line drive to right in front of back-to-back base hits by Luis Nunez and Matt Forgatch. Forgatch's was a chopper to short that brought in a run and made it 1-0.
The Saltdogs' also started out hot in the second frame. Brandon Pinckney began the inning with his first home run of the season to move the lead to 2-0. Mike Gilmartin earned a base on balls and then Tyler Smith singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Mozingo lifted a sacrifice fly to left to make it 3-0.
The Wingnuts would start their comeback in the bottom half of the second. Abel Nieves walked to become the team's first base runner. Chris McMurray also walked to put two on with two outs. David Amberson came to the plate and laid down a bunt between the mound and the plate which he beat out by diving into first base. The play resulted in both the first hit and first run for Wichita.
Mistakes by the Lincoln defense were a theme in the series and that continued on this night. Nieves was walked by Lincoln ace Joe Bisenius (1-2) with one out. After a fly ball by Carlo Testa, McMurray lofted a high fly ball to center that Forgatch charged in on and had glance off of his glove for a huge error. The Nuts took advantage with two outs, as Jake Luce singled to load the bases and then Ryan Khoury drew a base on balls to force in a run and make it 3-2. Chris McClendon followed by dropping a fly ball in shallow left just out of the reach of shortstop Mike Gilmartin that plated a pair and gave the Wingnuts their first lead.
The lead was added to in both the fifth and sixth innings by an advantageous Wichita offense. McMurray drove in Nieves, who had walked again, with a base hit in the fifth and then back-to-back walks issued by Bisenius in the sixth, brought the big bats to the plate in prime position. David Espinosa floated a double over the first baseman to make it 6-3 and the following hitter, Brent Clevlen, smacked a sacrifice fly to push the margin to 7-3.
One more insurance run was tacked on in the Nuts' final at bat. Luce singled through the left side of the infield and proceeded to race to third when the ball went past left fielder Jeremy Hamilton and to the wall. Khoury took advantage and allowed Luce to cross the plate with a run-scoring base hit.
While the offense was making its' move, the pitching staff was shutting down the Lincoln offense. Van Skike (2-0) never allowed a run after the second inning in a five frame performance that put him in position for the win. He allowed three runs on seven hits and walked three while striking out one.
The bullpen was as tremendous as ever when they took over in the sixth inning for the starter. Chris Peacock, Mike Zouzalik, Chase Johnson, and Dan Sattler each faced four hitters in scoreless frames. All of them struck out at least one batter, with Sattler finishing the game by whiffing consecutive Saltdogs.
The Wingnuts finished off the 2014 campaign with an overall record of 79-28. Tim Brown became the only player in American Association history to win three championships and each with a different organization. He also won in 2009 with Lincoln and 2011 with Grand Prairie. This is the first title in the team's seventh season of existence.
For information on 2015 season tickets, group outings, and party packages, call the Wingnuts' main office at (316) 264-NUTS, or visit the Wingnuts' official website at www.wichitawingnuts.com.
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American Association Stories from September 14, 2014
- American Association Results - AA
- Third Time Is a Charm: Wingnuts Win First Title with 8-3 Victory - Wichita Wingnuts
- Wichita Sweeps, Wins A.A. Championship - Lincoln Saltdogs
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