Comeback Falls Short in 4-1 Loss to Jackals
July 31, 2015 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
LITTLE FALLS, NJ (July 30, 2015) - The Wichita Wingnuts were able to come back from a ninth inning deficit in the opening game of a series with the New Jersey Jackals on Wednesday night. The same approach did not work on Thursday as the team fell behind by four runs after four innings and never could muster enough offense to close the gap. The Jackals bullpen held on to a 4-1 lead to gain a split in the series.
The Jackals (36-26) were the first team to reach the scoreboard, taking advantage of two Jason Van Skike walks in the bottom of the third. With one out, the Wingnuts starter issued the free passes to Tony Caldwell and Peter Mooney. Anthony Gomez cashed in with his third RBI of the series by rolling a ball up the middle to give the Jackals a 1-0 lead.
Van Skike (6-3) gave up a solo home run to Leandro Castro to open the fourth inning which doubled the lead. A single by Jamal Austin put the fastest New Jersey runner on base for Matt Helms. With Austin on the run, Helms grounded a ball deep into the hole at second that Jerry Gonzalez stopped with a diving stab. Austin continued to run past second and slid safely into third when Gonzalez's throw sailed past T.J. Mittelstaedt and to the wall. The runner got to his feet and was hit in the back with a throw while he scored to increase the lead to 3-0. Helms moved to third on the play and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Tony Caldwell.
Matt Padgett provided the only offense of the night for the Wingnuts in the top of the sixth when he launched an Anthony Claggett (2-3) pitch over the right field wall for his fifth home run of the season. Padgett has hit a home run in each of his last three games.
Both bullpens managed to shut down the opposing offense for the rest of the game. Scott Richmond, Iden Nazario, and Daniel Bennett each worked one inning and never allowed a hit. They combined to strike out four Jackals. For New Jersey it was Alex Powers and Donnie Joseph who got the game into the ninth inning with the score remaining 4-1. Hector Nelo then avenged his blown save from the night before by retiring the side in order with two strikeouts to finish the game.
The rubber match of the series will be held on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. RHP Omar Bencomo (5-1) will throw for the Wingnuts against RHP Gabriel Perez (7-1) of the Jackals. For information on 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.
American Association Stories from July 31, 2015
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