DÃÆéjÃÆàVu Against the City of Sioux: Wingnuts Walk-Off 4-3 for Second Straight Night vs. Explore
July 20, 2014 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, KS "" For those fans that attended both of the Wichita Wingnuts' Friday and Saturday night contests with the Sioux City Explorers at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, there must have been an overwhelming sense of been there done that. Despite a few major differences, the second game seemed to unfold according to a very similar script as the first. After earning a ninth inning come-from-behind victory on Friday, the Wingnuts closed out a game that entered the ninth inning tied at one with a booming RBI double by Chris McMurray that allowed the Wingnuts to stream onto the field and celebrate around their catcher.
Unlike the night before, the Wingnuts (42-18) jumped ahead in the first inning on Saturday. After Sioux City starter John Straka retired the first two batters he faced, Jake Kahaulelio ripped a two-out double. The right-hander proceeded to walk three straight batters to force in a run and give Wichita a 1-0 advantage.
In the very next inning, Peter Barrows followed a walk to Andres Perez with a booming home run that caromed off of the top of the scoreboard in left center to claim a 2-1 lead.
Both pitchers settled in over the next few innings despite seeing their pitch counts continue to escalate. In the fifth, the Wingnuts got consecutive one out singles by Chris McClendon and Jake Kahaulelio to put multiple runners aboard for the clean-up hitter, Brent Clevlen. The center fielder slapped a single on the ground through the right side which tied the game at 2-2.
After a leadoff walk of Rene Tosoni by Klipp began the sixth, the Explorers' first baseman stole second and headed to third on a throwing error by McMurray. Andres Perez, the next batter, lifted a fly ball to right field that scored Tosoni and put Sioux City (25-36) in front 3-2. Klipp exited after that inning, having given up three runs on just four hits with two strikeouts. He issued a season-high five walks during the outing.
Jimmer Kennedy came on to pitch in the eighth inning for the Explorers and gave up the tying run in the frame. Trevor Whyte drew a walk as the first batter of the inning and was quickly bunted to second by Taylor Oldham. Friday night's hero David Amberson came through again, on this occasion shooting a sharp groundball down the left field line and pulling his team even at 3-3.
Chris Bodishbaugh (1-3), who was handed a blown save and took the loss in Friday's match-up, finished the eighth and stayed in for the final inning. With the score still tied, Clevlen roped a single to center to start the attack. Carlo Testa tried to move Clevlen into scoring position, but his bunt was too hard and allowed Tommy Mendonca, the third baseman, to cut down the lead runner at second. With a full count on the next batter McMurray, Testa took off from first with the pitch. The catcher crushed a line drive directly over the head of center fielder, and defensive replacement, Tim Colwell to plate Testa easily and win in the last at bat for the second straight evening.
The win was the fourth walk-off victory of the season for the Wingnuts and third in the last six games. Kahalelio and Barrows paced all players with three hits, while Clevlen and Amberson joined the multiple hits club. The Wingnuts' pitching staff of Klipp, Frank Del Valle, Mike Zouzalik and Matt Nevarez combined to hold Sioux City to just five total hits. Nevarez (4-0) worked a perfect top of the ninth to earn the win.
The finale of the series will take place on Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. All-star RHP Jason Van Skike (7-2) will be on the mound for Wichita. A limited number of Wingnuts' trading card sets will be given away at the front gate. 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.
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