AirHogs Fall for Second Straight Night in Extras
May 31, 2018 - American Association (AA)
Texas AirHogs News Release
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - For the second straight night Wednesday, the AirHogs dropped an extra-inning thriller to the St. Paul Saints. Texas fell to the visitors 7-4 in 10 innings despite a two-run home run from outfielder Dillon Thomas and two runs by catcher Li Ning.
Thomas went deep for the third time this season in the first vs. St. Paul starter Eddie Medina, scoring himself and Greg Golson to make it 2-0. After AirHogs starter Meng Weiqiang stranded five over the first two innings, St. Paul responded with four runs from the third through the fifth to take a 4-2 edge.
Li Ning led the fifth inning off with a single and scored on a double by Luo Jinjun to cut the Saints lead to 4-3. Li Ning boarded again vs. Medina with a leadoff walk in the seventh and scored on an RBI double by Greg Golson vs. reliever Ken Frosch later in the inning to tie the game at 4-4.
Lefty Pedro Hernandez debuted for the AirHogs in the eighth and ninth, holding the Saints scoreless. After being walked three straight times following his homer (twice intentionally), Thomas came up with a chance to win it in the ninth. But with two aboard, he bounced out to second vs. relief man Ryan Boelter to send the game to extras.
The Saints tagged AirHogs reliever Conor Costello for four hits and three runs in the tenth to steal the win. The Saints were led by Noah Perio Jr., who finished with four hits. Boelter (2-0) picked up the win, while Tom Wilhelmsen picked up his second save. Costello dropped to 1-2 with the loss.
The AirHogs (1-11) and Saints (9-3) close the series tomorrow at 11:05 am. LHP Tyler Matzek (0-1, 8.22 ERA) is expected to start for Texas. LHP Jeff Malm (1-1, 9.00 ERA) will start for St. Paul. A live broadcast will be available at mixlr.com/TXAirHogs and americanassociationbaseball.tv.
The AirHogs - powered by Beijing Shougang Eagles, will take on the Saints, Sioux City Explorers and Kansas City T-Bones as part of a 10-game homestand May 28 - June 7. Individual tickets for the 2018 season are on sale now. Visit AirHogsBaseball.com for more information. For the latest news, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @TXAirHogs. Media inquiries: jzanaboni@texasairhogs.com.
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