Pheasants Rebound Against T-Bones
Published on June 22, 2011 under American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release
SIOUX FALLS- On a chilly afternoon, the Sioux Falls Pheasants gave a boisterous crowd of youngsters plenty to cheer about.
The Pheasants offense did just enough, and the pitching staff took care of the rest in a 6-3 win over the Kansas City T-Bones Wednesday at Sioux Falls Stadium
Pheasants starter Adam Cowart (4-1) pitched another strong performance, giving up two runs on nine hits with five strikeouts in six innings of work. The bullpen shut the door, throwing three quality innings. Aaron Cotter recorded his fifth save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
"We got good pitching today," said manager Steve Shirley. "We got some key hits to put some runs across the board, and when we've been able to accomplish that, we come out on top."
Kansas City outhit Sioux Falls 13 to nine but the Birds took advantage of their run-scoring opportunities. Henry Contreras smacked his fourth home run of the season, and Gus Milner reached base four times, including an RBI-triple in the eighth to seal the victory.
"We've been doing a great job of getting on base," Shirley said. "We just haven't come up with those key hits. But today we were able to do that."
The Pheasants' final two runs came with two outs.
The T-Bones scored first on an RBI single by Ray Sadler in the first inning. The Pheasants answered with three runs in the bottom half, capitalizing on three early walks from starter Kris Johnson.
Cowart settled in after allowing three first-inning hits. The right-hander held Kansas City scoreless through the next three innings, giving up just two hits.
Sioux Falls added another run when Contreras blasted a solo home run over the left field wall in the fourth. The homer proved to be the difference-maker in the game.
"I was hoping he would come back inside on me," said Contreras, who has homered in three of his las 10 games. "He did just that, and I was able to put a good swing on it."
Kansas City cut into the Pheasants lead in the fifth. Rico Washington singled to bring home Jeff Hulett to make it a 4-2 game. The damage could've been worse if not for a leaping catch in short right-center field by Kevin Carby.
Johnson (0-2) was credited with the loss, giving up four runs on four hits with six walks in six innings.
Reliever Ryan Grant pitched a clean seventh inning after replacing Cowart.
"Adam had a great outing and that's always a plus when your starter can give you five or six innings," Contreras said.
Sioux Falls scored an insurance run in the seventh when Reggie Abercrombie laced a single with two outs to score Milner.
Sadler and Hulett each had three hits in the game to lead Kansas City.
With the win, the Pheasants improve to 16-23. Kansas City falls to 15-23.
The two teams face off in the final game of this four-game series at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, at Sioux Falls Stadium. It is Man Night. Men of all ages can purchase a ticket for just $5. As always, it is Thirsty Thursday. Domestic drafts are just $2 all night long.
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