Eighth Inning Haunts Wingnuts in 5-2 Loss
July 20, 2015 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, KS (July 19, 2015) - In the recent past, the Wichita Wingnuts have been able to hand their bullpen the slimmest of leads and watch them slam the door shut on opponents. That strategy backfired on Sunday night when the Nuts missed out on a few chances to pad their advantage only to watch the Sioux Falls Canaries jump on four different relief pitchers in a fateful eighth inning. Sioux Falls scored five runs to snap the bullpen's scoreless streak that had lasted 29.1 straight innings. The 5-2 loss also ended the Wingnuts win streak at five games.
Wichita (32-23) grabbed the first lead of the game in the second inning off of Shawn Blackwell. Starlin Rodriguez singled with one out and then raced to third when shortstop Miguel Pena mishandled Matt Padgett's bouncer up the middle. With runners on the corners, John Nester lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right center that was tracked down by Jake Luce on the warning track, allowing Rodriguez to score.
Nester was solely responsible for adding to the lead in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and the bases empty he knocked his fourth home run of the year over the wall in left center to make it 2-0 Wichita.
The Wingnuts never would build on their advantage so the lead remained 2-0 when starting pitcher Alex Koronis finished his impressive night on the hill. He shut out the Canaries (23-32) for 7.0 innings and scattered just four hits while striking out three.
The right-hander gave the ball to the bullpen hoping for his first win of the season. Al Yevoli loaded the bases without recording an out before exiting in favor of Daniel Bennett (0-6). Bennett faced just one hitter, David Bergin, and gave up a run-scoring single on an 0-2 pitch.
Next up out of the pen was lefty Frankie Reed. The former Marlins' prospect fielded a tapper back to the mound and threw home for the first out. Another groundball from RJ Perucki, this one to first base, drove in the tying run, but an out was recorded at first. With two runners still in scoring position, Reed left a breaking ball in the zone to Jason Repko and the former Major Leaguer made him pay. Repko drove a ball over Jayce Ray's head in center to score both runs and give the Canaries a 4-2 lead. The fourth and final pitcher of the inning, Alex Boshers, allowed an RBI single to Michael Broad that made the score 5-2.
Wichita was unable to come up with any runs despite bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs in both the eighth and ninth innings. Cameron McVey struck out Luis Hernandez to end the eighth and closer Chase Johnson coaxed a fly ball to center from Joash Brodin to end the game.
Game two of the series will be played at 7:05 on Monday night. The Wingnuts turn to RHP Omar Bencomo (5-0) in a match-up with LHP Miguel Pena (5-5) of Sioux Falls. It is a Kwik Shop Dollar Day so be sure to swing by a Wichita-area Kwik Shop to pick up your voucher for a $1 general admission ticket. 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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