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Wichita Wingnuts Game Notes - June 16th, 2013

June 16, 2013 - American Association (AA) - Wichita Wingnuts News Release


SEVEN-RUN SIXTH LIFTS WINGNUTS: The Wichita Wingnuts rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to an 11-4 win over the St. Paul Saints on Saturday night. Wichita jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, highlighted by Cole Armstrong's two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the first. St. Paul scored one in the fifth and three in the sixth to tie the game before Wichita exploded in the bottom of the sixth. Jared McDonald and Ryan Khoury each hit a two-run double in the inning. All nine of Wichita's starters had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Justin Klipp took a no-decision in his first start with the Wingnuts, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in 5.0+ innings. Rookie Josh Stone earned the win in his professional debut, working 2.0 scoreless relief innings. Lincoln Holdzkom and Josh Dew each threw a perfect frame to finish the win. David Amberson had two hits and has now hit safely in 15 consecutive games.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE SAINTS: The Wingnuts are 40-33 all-time against the St. Paul Saints, including a 24-11 mark at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. St. Paul is an original independent franchise that started play in the Northern League in 1993. The Saints are currently in their 21st season. The Saints are managed by George Tsamis who is in his 10th season. Tsamis guided the Saints to their fourth championship, winning the Northern League in 2004. Tsamis previously won a pair of championships with the Can-Am League's New Jersey Jackals. The Saints reached the 2011 American Association Championship Series where they lost in five games to the Grand Prairie AirHogs. St. Paul reached the Championship Series in 2006 and 2007, losing both times in five games to the Fort Worth Cats. Eight-year Major League veteran-and former Saints' pitcher-Kerry Ligtenberg returns for his second year as St. Paul's pitching coach.

SERIES MATCHUP: The Wingnuts are 18-10 and lead the Lincoln Saltdogs by 2.5 games in the Central Division. Wichita lost two of three to the Winnipeg Goldeyes on the road. The Saints are 15-13, and tied for first place in the North Division with the Goldeyes. The Saints just won two of three from the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Midway Stadium in St. Paul. The Wingnuts are first in the league in hitting (.296), first in pitching (3.19), and second in fielding (.979). The Saints are third in the American Association in batting (.288), eighth in pitching (4.80), and ninth in defense (.971).

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: The Wingnuts go with right-hander Junior Guerra who is 2-0 with a 4.07 ERA in five starts. Guerra took a no-decision at Winnipeg on Monday, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in 6.0 IP. Wichita lost the game 7-6. Guerra is 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA at home this season in two starts. Lifetime at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, Guerra is 8-2 with a 2.78 ERA (30 ER, 97.0 IP) in 14 starts. Guerra has allowed two or fewer earned runs in three of five starts this year and has allowed more than four earned runs in only one of them. Guerra has pitched at least 6.0 innings in four of five starts, and has pitched at least 5.0 innings in all of them. Guerra is 1-0 in one career start against the Saints, allowing two earned runs in 7.2 IP at Midway Stadium on August 10th, 2011.

Guerra was 1-3 in five starts with a 5.46 ERA for the Leones de Yucatan in the Mexican League last year. Guerra allowed three or fewer earned runs in four of his five starts for the Leones. Guerra starred for the Wingnuts in 2011, posting a 9-3 record while finishing tied for ninth in the American Association in ERA (3.57) and seventh in strikeouts (103). Guerra was 8-1 with a 2.30 ERA over his final 12 regular season starts in 2011, and then allowed one earned run in 6.2 innings in Game One of the Division Series at Grand Prairie. On July 13th, 2011, Guerra worked the first 7.1 innings of a combined no-hitter over the Shreveport-Bossier Captains at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

As a pitcher, Guerra is 13-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 66 career games, 30 of them starts. Guerra is in his eighth year of professional baseball, and spent four years in the Atlanta Braves' farm system as a catcher. Guerra was signed by Atlanta as an international free agent in 2001.

The Saints go with right-hander Luke Anderson who is 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in five starts. Anderson took a no-decision on Tuesday vs. Fargo-Moorhead, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in 5.0 IP. Anderson is 1-1 with a 5.27 ERA on the road this season in three starts. Anderson has allowed three or fewer earned runs in three of five starts. Anderson has made two career appearances against the Wingnuts, including his professional debut on June 26th, 2012 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Anderson allowed two runs, one earned, in 2.0 IP in his debut. Anderson then took a no-decision on September 1st, 2012 at Midway Stadium against the Wingnuts, allowing two earned runs in 3.2 IP in an eventual 8-3 Saints' win.

Anderson was 5-3 with a 3.28 ERA as a true rookie for the Saints last year in 11 starts and three relief outings. Anderson played college baseball at North Dakota State University where he was 8-3 with a 3.58 ERA as a senior in 2012. NDSU plays its home games at Newman Outdoor Field, home of the American Association's Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks.

WELCOME TO THE PROS: True rookie right-hander Josh Stone earned the win on Saturday vs. St. Paul with 2.0 shutout relief innings. Stone became the 29th player in team history to make his professional debut with the Wingnuts.

ZIEGLER NEW HOME RUN LEADER: Wingnuts' first baseman CJ Ziegler hit a solo home run on June 14th vs. St. Paul in the opener of a double header. It was Ziegler's 27th home run in a Wingnuts' uniform over the last two years, setting a new franchise record. Ryan Patterson (2010-11) held the previous record with 26 home runs.

BACK-TO-BACK: John Rodriguez and CJ Ziegler hit back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches in the bottom of the third inning in game one of a double header on Friday, June 14th vs. St. Paul. It was the first time the Wingnuts hit back-to-back home runs since July 26th, 2011 when Josh Horn and Brent Clevlen did it vs. Fargo-Moorhead.

ROSTER MOVES: The Wingnuts made several transactions prior to Friday's double header. Wichita traded right-handed pitcher Tyler White to the Frontier League's River City Rascals in exchange for catcher Scott Dalrymple. Dalrymple hit .310 in 13 games for River City. Wichita also acquired outfielder Mike Mobbs from the United League's San Angelo Colts in exchange for future considerations. Mobbs hit .388 in 19 games for San Angelo. Wichita signed rookie right-handed pitcher Josh Stone who was 8-3 with a 2.14 ERA for Tabor College as a senior this spring. The Wingnuts released catcher Stephen Yoo and outfielder Tim Rotola.

LOTS OF BASEBALL: Beginning with Friday's double header vs. St. Paul, the Wingnuts have eight games scheduled over the next six days. Wichita and Gary SouthShore will play a day/night double header on Tuesday. Both games are scheduled for nine innings.

DOUBLE HEADER/RAINOUT NOTES: Friday's double header vs. St. Paul was the Wingnuts' first of the season and a result of a June 9th rainout at Midway Stadium. Prior to June 9th, Wichita's last rainout came on August 23rd, 2012 at El Paso, which marked their first full postponement of a game (home or away) since August 8th, 2010. Including the postseason, the Wingnuts had gone 212 consecutive games without a cancelation.

GRAND SLAM TIME: On Tuesday, June 11th at Winnipeg, Abel Nieves hit the Wingnuts' first grand slam home run since Juan Richardson hit a bases loaded 'big fly' on August 27th, 2011 in a 19-2 rout at El Paso. Wichita hit .309 as a team with the bases loaded last season, and entered June 11th hitting .400 in 2013, but had gone 126 consecutive games without a grand slam.

STRONGEST LINK: With 8.0 shutout innings on Tuesday, June 11th at Winnipeg, Jon Link has now thrown 18.1 consecutive scoreless frames dating back to his start on June 1st at Sioux Falls. Link also lowered his ERA to a league-best 1.69, and currently tops the American Association with five wins. The Wingnuts' record for most consecutive scoreless innings by a starting pitcher is 26.2, accomplished by Nick Singleton in 2011.

'AMBO' ROLLING: Wingnuts' rookie right fielder David Amberson has hit safely in 15 games in a row (22 for 50, .440). Amberson is also 26 for 59 (.441) over his last 18 games with 13 runs scored and 12 RBI. Amberson slugged the first home run of his professional career on June 10th at Winnipeg.

ABEL HEATING UP: Wingnuts' third baseman Abel Nieves is 28 for 77 (.364) in his last 22 games with 18 runs scored and 16 walks. Nieves hit .320 for the Joliet Slammers last year, which ranked second in the Frontier League. On May 27th vs. Amarillo, Nieves picked up the 500th hit of his professional career.

PITCHING STRONG: The Wingnuts rank first in the American Association with a 3.19 team ERA. The Wingnuts ranked first in ERA in 2009 and 2010 while finishing third in 2011.

SWINGING STRONG: The Wingnuts rank first in the American Association with a .296 team batting average. Over the last two seasons, the Wingnuts have finished first and second respectively in the league batting race.

GLOVE WORK: The Wingnuts rank second in the American Association with a .979 fielding percentage. Wichita has led the league in defense in three of their first five years of existence (2008, 2009, 2012), and finished second in 2011. The Wingnuts hold the American Association record for team fielding percentage at .980, which they accomplished in both 2009 and 2012.

HINSON CLIMBING THE RANKS: Ryan Hinson won his 24th game in a Wingnuts' uniform on June 14th vs. St. Paul in the opener of a double header. Hinson ranks second all-time in team history in victories, and trails Derek Blacksher (2009, 2011-12) for first place (26 wins). Hinson's 214 strikeouts rank second all-time, and are four shy of tying Blacksher for first place.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Wingnuts are 162-97 (.625) all-time at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. It is the highest home winning percentage for any American Association team since the Wingnuts began play in 2008.

FRONT LINERS PROTECTING THE HOME FRONT: Third-year Wingnuts' starter Ryan Hinson has excelled when pitching at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Including the postseason, Hinson is 15-6 with a 3.32 ERA (61 ER, 165.1 IP) over 25 starts and two relief appearances. Junior Guerra-who is in his second overall season with the Wingnuts-is 8-2 with a 2.78 ERA (30 ER, 97.0 IP) all-time at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in 14 starts.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN: Wingnuts' fifth-year manager Kevin Hooper is 240-180 (.571) since taking over in 2009. Hooper has guided the Wingnuts to four consecutive winning seasons, as well as three playoff berths. Hooper's .571 winning percentage is the highest among American Association managers over the last five years. His 240 wins also rank first during that same stretch. During his 10-year playing career, Hooper was a member of a team that made the playoffs in eight different seasons. Hooper was also a member of Wichita State University's College World Series team in 1996. The Shockers reached the NCAA tournament in all four of Hooper's collegiate seasons, and posted a composite .815 winning percentage.

ALUMNI REPORT: RHP Matt Nevarez (2011-12) has a 2.31 ERA for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay) with 13 strikeouts in 11.2 IP. RHP James Hoyt (2012) has a 4.89 ERA for the High-A Carolina League's Lynchburg Hillcats (Atlanta) with 72 strikeouts and just 39 hits allowed in 49.2 IP. LHP and Wingnuts' co-owner Nate Robertson (2012) has a 2.60 ERA in 27.2 IP for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League's Round Rock Express (Texas).

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