Missed Opportunities Cost Wingnuts in 7-6 Loss
Published on June 12, 2015 under American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, KS - The Wichita Wingnuts committed four errors and saw a couple of close misses on offense come back to haunt them in a 7-6 loss to Lincoln on Friday night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
Starting pitcher Scott Kuzminsky was facing the Saltdogs for the second time in less than a week. After shutting out Lincoln on the road through 5.2 innings on Sunday, he allowed a run in the first inning this time around. Eddie Young singled to start the game and moved to third on a pair of fielder's choice groundouts . Former Wichita star C.J. Ziegler lined an RBI single to left to open the scoring.
For the second straight evening the Wingnuts took the lead courtesy of a crooked number in the second frame. A walk to T.J. Mittelstaedt from Lincoln starter Moises Melendez began the inning and was followed by a John Nester single. Dustin Geiger tied the game by driving in his team-high 15th run with a single of his own. Luis Hernandez bunted both remaining runners into scoring position and Jayce Ray brought one home with a fielder's choice. The final run of the inning scored on David Espinosa's bunt single toward third and made it 3-1 Wingnuts.
Jon Gaston's two-run home run in the top of the third tied the game at three and it remained that way until the fifth inning when both teams tallied. Lincoln (7-14) took a brief 4-3 lead when Kuzminsky sailed a pick-off throw high to first with runners on base in the top half. Wichita would answer with a pair of runs in the bottom half to go back in front. Mittelstaedt drove in the tying run on a broken bat single to center that left runners on the corners. Mittelstaedt promptly stole second and on the throw Joash Brodin raced home from third.
Lincoln tied the game in the seventh inning when the first two batters to face Al Yevoli singled and doubled to even the game at 5-5. That is when disaster struck in the eighth for the home team. Daniel Bennett (0-1) bobbled a roller in front of the mound allowing Matt Forgatch to reach base to start the inning. Two batters later, there were runners on first and second with one out and Kevin Hooper summoned Daniel Carela from the bullpen. Carela was able to get a bouncer back to the mound off the bat of Young, but threw wildly into center field, allowing Forgatch to score and give Lincoln a 6-5 lead. Ziegler added one more run to the Wingnuts' deficit by finding a hole with a bases loaded single. He finished 4-5 with two RBI.
Wichita (13-7) missed out on a golden opportunity to pull even or take the lead in the eighth. Geiger knocked his second base hit of the game to start the inning against Sean Keeler. The right-hander then walked Hernandez on four straight pitches. Ray followed with a single to load the bases with nobody out. Alberto Gonzalez cut the Lincoln lead to one with a sacrifice fly to left. With runners on the corners and one out and Espinosa at the plate, Ray was picked off of first for the second out. Espinosa was retired to end the inning on a fly ball to the warning track in right field.
The Wingnuts could not get a runner on base in the ninth inning as Zach Arneson picked up his third save of the season. Wichita had their leadoff hitter reach base in every inning but the final frame and left ten runners stranded. Conor Spink (1-1) picked up the victory by throwing 2.2 shutout innings out of the bullpen.
The third game of the series is slated for Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and will feature a visit from WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter. Anthony Capra will toe the rubber for the Wingnuts against Jesse Smith of the Saltdogs. 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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