Nuts Explore All Avenues to Knock off Sioux City 5-3
Published on July 4, 2014 under American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
SIOUX CITY, IOWA - The Wichita Wingnuts smacked 13 hits and took full advantage of five Sioux City errors to emerge victorious by a 5-3 margin on Thursday night at Lewis and Clark Park.
The game featured a battle between two pitchers that entered play in the top ten of the American Association in ERA. Right-handed pitcher John Straka (5-3) fell victim to the speed of Ryan Khoury and some questionable defense to fall behind after the very first inning. Khoury singled to start things off and then advanced to second on an errant pick-off attempt by the pitcher. The shortstop then stole third easily, but the throw from the catcher Todd Jennings sailed high and allowed him to stand up and race home to give the Nuts a 1-0 lead.
The Winguts (31-17) held on to that same lead until the fourth, when they added on. Brent Clevlen led off the inning with a double and scored when the following batter, J.T. Wise, traded places with him on a two-bagger of his own. With runners on the corners and one out, Taylor Oldham hit a groundball up the middle with a drawn in infield. The shortstop, Chris Escobar, made a nice pick, but threw wide of first and to the fence which allowed Wise to come home and push the lead to 3-0.
The Explorers (20-28) would manage their first run against Wingnuts' right-hander Justin Klipp (5-2) in the bottom half of the same inning. Peter Barrows led off with a double and appeared to be stuck there when Todd Jennings singled him home with a clutch, two-out single to cut the lead to 3-1. They didn't take long to attack one again, scoring more in the next inning. Three straight batters reached to start the inning. Oscar Mesa doubled, Tim Colwell bunted for a hit, and then Rene Tosoni drew a walk, to load the bases with nobody out. After Andres Perez lined out to third, Barrows singled to left to score a pair and tie the game. After Carlo Testa's throw to the plate sailed wide, two runners advanced into scoring position. Klipp made sure they wouldn't score by getting a strikeout and foul pop out to end the inning all squared at three.
Wichita came right back to re-gain the lead in the top of the sixth on three straight singles, including one of the run-scoring variety by Chris McClendon. Up 4-3 in the seventh, the Wingnuts were not satisfied. Khoury led off the inning with double into the left-center gap and went to third on a Testa single. The right fielder, Barrows, had the ball roll between his legs, allowing Khoury to score. That miscue gave the Nuts a 5-3 advantage.
After Klipp went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on six hits while both walking and striking out three, the bullpen took over. Alex Hinshaw, Mike Zouzalik, and Matt Nevarez each worked a scoreless inning in order to finish off Sioux City. Matt Nevarez earned his 13th save of the year, which has him one below the league leader Marshal Schuler of Lincoln.
The Wingnuts' tallied 13 hits in the game, the third time in four games they have been in double digits. Khoury, Testa, and Clevlen each finished the game with two hits, while Wise accumulated three.
The series resumes on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. with RHP Jason Van Skike (4-2) on the hill for Wichita against RHP Greg Holt (2-6) of the Explorers. 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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- Nuts Explore All Avenues to Knock off Sioux City 5-3 - Wichita Wingnuts
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