Wichita upstages Captains' late rally

Published on August 4, 2010 under American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


SHREVEPORT, La. - The Shreveport-Bossier Captains played from behind for almost all of their game with the Wichita Wingnuts on Wednesday night, finally taking a lead with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Just a few short minutes later, they were behind again, as Wichita scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to shock the Captains 9-7 in front of 884 fans at Fair Grounds Field.

The win gave the Wingnuts (37-38, 17-10 2nd half) the two-out-of-three series win, becoming the second team this season (after El Paso did it twice) to beat the Captains (42-32, 13-14) in a series at Fair Grounds Field.

The fateful top of the ninth began with a clean single by Ryan Patterson off Captains closer Hector Carrasco (1-4). Carlos Rivera then hit a potential double-play grounder to second, but shortstop Jeff Hulett dropped the throw from Joe Urtuzuastegui and the Captains did not record an out. Michael Bell then tried to bunt the runners over, but he sent it right back to Carrasco, who wheeled and threw to third, but it was dropped by Glenn Wilson for another error, and Patterson scampered home to tie the game.

After Cesar Suarez sacrificed the runners over, Jorge Delgado slapped a single to left-center over the drawn in infield to give the Wingnuts the lead back.

Cephas Howard (3-2), who could not get a four-out save when he gave up the lead in the eighth, gave up a leadoff single to Brian Peterson in the bottom of the ninth, Peterson's third hit of the game. But Howard came back and went right through the heart of the Shreveport-Bossier order, getting Christopher Garcia to fly out and striking out Palmer Karr and Bryan Sabatella to preserve the win.

That the Captains were even in the game late was surprising after the top of the first inning. All-Star Osvaldo Rodriguez walked the first two hitters he faced, and an error, three hits and another walk later he was down 5-0. Wingnuts righty Gabe Medina was solid through the first three innings but his defense betrayed him in the fourth.

Back-to-back errors by shortstop Joe Spiers started things, and three straight hits by Andre Marshall, Joe Urtuzuastegui and Hulett put the Captains on the board at 5-3. One out later, Jovanny Rosario smacked a two-run single to tie the game.

Rodriguez pitched a perfect fifth, but he gave up a leadoff double to Steve Pearson in the sixth. A wild pitch sent him to third, although Rodriguez got Spiers to ground out with the infield in to keep Pearson at third. Up came Jorge Cortes, who knocked out Ryan DiPietro a night earlier with a home run. This time it was just an RBI double, but it also sent the Captains starter to the showers.

Medina did not allow anything else after the fourth, going six innings, allowing seven hits, five runs (but only one earned) with one walk and 10 strikeouts, including the final three men he faced. Dustin Pease worked around a one-out single in the seventh, but Brandon Mathes could not escape control problems in the eighth. After Marshall's third hit of the game put him at first with one out, Urtuzuastegui flied out, but Mathes walked the eight and nine hitters - Hulett and Wilson - to load the bases. In came Howard, and Rosario lined a two-run single to right for that short-lived lead, as Wilson was thrown out at second on the play and the Wingnuts came right back to win it in the ninth.

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American Association Stories from August 4, 2010


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