Cox Homer Sends Wingnuts to Sweep
Published on July 6, 2016 under American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, Kans. - Zack Cox hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking an 8-8 tie and sending the Wichita Wingnuts to a 9-8 sweep-clinching victory over the Laredo Lemurs Wednesday night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
After Laredo (26-20) tied the contest at eight with a run in the top of the eighth against Seth Harvey (1-0), Cox took Kamakani Usui (1-2) deep to start the home half of the frame, vaulting the Wingnuts (28-16) back into the lead.
Closer Frankie Reed came on for the ninth, and after hitting Cesar Valera with one out, bounced back to retire the next two to finish off his ninth save of the year, and send the Wingnuts to their sixth straight win.
The two teams traded runs in the early innings, with Wichita grabbing the lead first. Brent Clevlen drew first blood on the night, hitting a solo homer in the first for his fifth homer in his last five games. Harrison Kain added another tally in the next inning, picking up the first of his three doubles and three RBIs.
Laredo got both runs back in the third, but the Wingnuts regained the lead in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by T.J. Mittelstaedt.
The Lemurs grabbed their first lead of the series in the fourth, plating four runs, two of which were unearned, to pull ahead 6-3.
Christian Stringer brought Wichita within two with an RBI in the bottom of the frame, and then the Wingnuts regained the lead once again in the fifth. Kain doubled in two more to tie it, before a Leo Vargas infield single put the home team in front, 7-6.
A wild pitch in the sixth scored Clevlen, pushing the margin to two and giving Wichita a run in each of the first six frames.
Leandro Castro led off the seventh with a homer to cut the lead to one, setting things up for the eighth.
With the win, the Wingnuts have now won six straight to tie their season-high, and won 22 of their last 27 games overall.
The Wingnuts hit the road Thursday to begin a four-game series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats at U.S. Steel Yard. Right-hander Garrett Gould (0-0, 3.00) will get the starting nod for Wichita, while Gary has yet to announce Thursday's starter. First pitch is set for 7:10, and the game can be heard on 1410 AM KGSO, as well as on TuneIn.
For information on 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.
Laredo Lemurs 8 AT Wichita Wingnuts 9 YTD YTD Laredo AB R H BI AVG Wichita AB R H BI AVG Castro, L DH 5 1 1 1 .366 Stringer, C 2B 5 0 0 1 .271 Martinez, D CF 5 0 2 1 .300 Cox, Z 3B 3 2 2 1 .243 Valera, C 3B 4 0 0 0 .270 Clevlen, B DH 4 3 2 1 .322 Phipps, D RF 4 1 1 0 .247 Mittelstaedt, T LF 5 1 3 1 .306 Chavez, Z C 4 0 0 0 .276 Medina, M C 5 0 1 0 .242 Posso, J PH 1 0 0 0 .244 Chavez, M 1B 3 1 0 0 .348 Nieves, A 1B 3 0 0 1 .281 Prigatano, R RF 3 2 1 0 .306 Morrison, T LF 3 2 1 0 .292 Kain, H CF 3 0 3 3 .363 Pulfer, J 2B 3 2 2 0 .233 Vargas, L SS 4 0 1 1 .267 Rondon, A SS 4 2 3 3 .280 36 8 10 6 35 9 13 8 Laredo 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 1 0 - 8 10 1 Wichita 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 1 x - 9 13 2 2B--Pulfer, J 2B (6), Cox, Z 3B (13), Kain, H CF 3 (8). HR--Castro, L DH (4), Cox, Z 3B (4), Clevlen, B DH (13). RBI--Castro, L DH (10), Martinez, D CF (17), Nieves, A 1B (10), Rondon, A SS 3 (22), TOTALS 6 (0), Stringer, C 2B (13), Cox, Z 3B (22), Clevlen, B DH (39), Mittelstaedt, T LF (34), Kain, H CF 3 3 (26), Vargas, L SS (21), TOTALS 8 (0). HP--Valera, C 3B (6), Cox, Z 3B (3). SF--Nieves, A 1B (3). SB--Castro, L DH (1), Phipps, D RF (6), Morrison, T LF 2 (9), Pulfer, J 2B (5), Rondon, A SS 3 (10).
E--Pulfer, J 2B (15), Cox, Z 3B (9), Medina, M C (2). LOB--Laredo 6, Wichita 8. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Laredo Montanez, J 3.1 6 4 4 2 4 1 10.80 Pollorena, L 0.2 2 2 2 0 0 0 4.91 De La Cruz, L 0.2 2 1 1 1 2 0 3.54 Guerrero, H 2.1 2 1 1 2 4 0 6.08 Usui, K (L,1-2) 1.0 1 1 1 0 2 1 2.70 8 13 9 9 5 12 2 Wichita Link, J 6.2 9 7 5 2 2 1 3.58 Nading, C 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Harvey, S (W,1-0) 1.0 1 1 1 1 3 0 4.50 Reed, F (S,9) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.88 9 10 8 6 3 6 1 WP--Montanez, J (1), Guerrero, H (10). PB--Chavez, Z. HB--Pollorena, L (1), Reed, F (2). SO--Castro, L, Martinez, D, Valera, C 2, Nieves, A, Pulfer, J, Stringer, C, Mittelstaedt, T, Medina, M 3, Chavez, M 3, Prigatano, R, Vargas, L 3. BB--Phipps, D, Morrison, T, Pulfer, J, Cox, Z, Clevlen, B, Chavez, M, Prigatano, R, Kain, H. BF--Montanez, J 18 (18), Pollorena, L 4 (14), De La Cruz, L 5 (94), Guerrero, H 10 (107), Usui, K 4 (78), Link, J 31 (277), Nading, C (50), Harvey, S 5 (36), Reed, F 4 (96). P-S--Montanez, J 89-53, Pollorena, L 10-4, De La Cruz, L 22-12, Guerrero, H 42-25, Usui, K 20-12, Link, J 109-74, Nading, C 1-1, Harvey, S 18-13, Reed, F 9-5. T--3:33. A--2206 Weather: 95° Mostly Sunny, Wind S @ 10mp Plate Umpire - Marty Bauer, Field Umpire #1 - Sean Hicks, Field Umpire #2 - Jerry Martinez
American Association Stories from July 6, 2016
- Joe Bircher Pitches Birds to 7-4 Win over K.C. - Sioux Falls Canaries
- Solid Pitching Not Enough in Losses to St. Paul - Joplin Blasters
- Cox Homer Sends Wingnuts to Sweep - Wichita Wingnuts
- Goldeyes Lose Series Finale - Winnipeg Goldeyes
- Sioux City Ends Home Stand With A Loss - Sioux City Explorers
- AirHogs Sweep Twin Bill in Amarillo - Lincoln Saltdogs
- RailCats Offense Comes Alive to Beat Goldeyes 5-1 - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Saints Sweep Blasters with 3-2 Win - St. Paul Saints
- Saints Get Strong(Er) on the Hill with Signing of Stillwater High Product - St. Paul Saints
- 17 Hours Later, Saints Get Victory 4-3 - St. Paul Saints
- RailCats Sign Former Major Leaguer - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Gunn Signed by Diamondbacks - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- After Three Hour Rain Delay Saints Lead 4-3 as Curfew Halts Play, Resume Wednesday - St. Paul Saints
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
