Wichita Wingnuts Game Notes - June 15th, 2013

June 15, 2013 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release


HINSON, ZIEGLER REACH MILESTONES IN DOUBLE HEADER SPLIT: The Wichita Wingnuts split a double header with the St. Paul Saints on Friday, winning the opener 7-2 and losing in the nightcap 3-2. Ryan Hinson tossed the first complete game of his professional career, allowing two earned runs on six hits in 7.0 IP. Hinson walked three and struck out eight. Wichita took control with a six-run bottom of the third, highlighted by back- to-back home runs from John Rodriguez and CJ Ziegler. It was the first time since July 26, 2011 that the Wingnuts hit back-to-back homers. For Ziegler, it was his 27th in a Wingnuts' uniform, setting a new franchise record.

In the nightcap, St. Paul rallied for three two-out runs to overcome a 1-0 Wingnuts' lead. Adam Frost hit a two-run double to put the Saints in front. Wichita rallied in the bottom of the seventh, and pulled within one run on David Amberson's two-out RBI single to center. Anthony Capra threw 3.0 shutout innings in a spot start. Ryan Khoury hit an RBI triple. Daniel Bennett worked 2.0 shutout relief innings. Amberson had hits in each end of the double header, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE SAINTS: The Wingnuts are 39-33 all-time against the St. Paul Saints, including a 23-11 mark at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. St. Paul is an original independent franchise that started play in the Northern League in 1993. The Saints are currently in their 21st season. The Saints are managed by George Tsamis who is in his 10th season. Tsamis guided the Saints to their fourth championship, winning the Northern League in 2004. Tsamis previously won a pair of championships with the Can-Am League's New Jersey Jackals. The Saints reached the 2011 American Association Championship Series where they lost in five games to the Grand Prairie AirHogs. St. Paul reached the Championship Series in 2006 and 2007, losing both times in five games to the Fort Worth Cats. Eight-year Major League veteran-and former Saints' pitcher-Kerry Ligtenberg returns for his second year as St. Paul's pitching coach.

SERIES MATCHUP: The Wingnuts are 17-10 and lead the Lincoln Saltdogs by 2.5 games in the Central Division. Wichita lost two of three to the Winnipeg Goldeyes on the road. The Saints are 15-12, and tied for first place in the North Division with the Goldeyes. The Saints just won two of three from the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Midway Stadium in St. Paul. The Wingnuts are first in the league in hitting (.292), first in pitching (3.16), and second in fielding (.979). The Saints are third in the American Association in batting (.289), seventh in pitching (4.52), and tied for ninth in defense (.970).

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: The Wingnuts go with right-hander Justin Klipp who is 0-0 in one relief appearance since signing with the Wingnuts last Sunday. Klipp allowed one earned run on two hits out of the bullpen Monday night at Winnipeg. Klipp was scheduled to start at St. Paul on Sunday before the game was postponed due to rain.

Klipp was purchased from the United League's Edinburg Roadrunners where he was 2-1 in three starts with a 1.24 ERA. Klipp had 36 strikeouts in just 21.1 IP while allowing only 18 hits. Klipp had a pair of 14-strikeout games and last started on June 2nd vs. Fort Worth, allowing one earned run with eight strikeouts in 6.1 IP to earn the win.

Klipp is a 28-year old true rookie who has recovered from a pair of back injuries. Klipp played college baseball at Cal State Fullerton from 2006-07, going 2-0 with a 2.15 ERA in 37.2 IP as a senior. Klipp was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 22nd round in 2007, and was also selected by the Texas Rangers in the 29th round out of Calabasas High School in Calabasas, CA. Klipp and tonight's Saints' starter Wes Roemer were teammates at Cal State Fullerton.

The Saints go with right-hander Wes Roemer who is 3-2 with a 4.30 ERA in five starts. Roemer earned a win against the Wingnuts last Friday at Midway Stadium, allowing four earned runs on six hits in 7.0 IP. Roemer is 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA on the road this season in three starts. Roemer has allowed three or fewer earned runs in three of five starts, and has allowed more than four earned runs in just one of them. Roemer has walked three or fewer batters in four of five starts.

Roemer opened 2012 with the Saints and was 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA in four starts before having his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization. Roemer was assigned to Double-A Chattanooga and was 4-2 with one save and a 2.73 ERA in 23 relief appearances.

Roemer is in his seventh season of professional baseball and is 41-41 in his career with a 4.24 ERA in 146 games, 112 of them starts. Roemer has averaged just 2.6 walks per nine innings in his professional career. Roemer was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1st round (50th overall) out of Cal State Fullerton in 2007 and twice reached the Triple-A level. Roemer was the Big West's Pitcher of the Year and a First-Team All-American as a sophomore in 2006.

ZIEGLER NEW HOME RUN LEADER: Wingnuts' first baseman CJ Ziegler hit a solo home run on June 14th vs. St. Paul in the opener of a double header. It was Ziegler's 27th home run in a Wingnuts' uniform over the last two years, setting a new franchise record. Ryan Patterson (2010-11) held the previous record with 26 home runs.

BACK-TO-BACK: John Rodriguez and CJ Ziegler hit back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches in the bottom of the third inning in game one of a double header on Friday, June 14th vs. St. Paul. It was the first time the Wingnuts hit back-to-back home runs since July 26th, 2011 when Josh Horn and Brent Clevlen did it vs. Fargo-Moorhead.

ROSTER MOVES: The Wingnuts made several transactions prior to Friday's double header. Wichita traded right-handed pitcher Tyler White to the Frontier League's River City Rascals in exchange for catcher Scott Dalrymple. Dalrymple hit .310 in 13 games for River City. Wichita also acquired outfielder Mike Mobbs from the United League's San Angelo Colts in exchange for future considerations. Mobbs hit .388 in 19 games for San Angelo. Wichita signed rookie right-handed pitcher Josh Stone who was 8-3 with a 2.14 ERA for Tabor College as a senior this spring. The Wingnuts released catcher Stephen Yoo and outfielder Tim Rotola.

LOTS OF BASEBALL: Beginning with Friday's double header vs. St. Paul, the Wingnuts have eight games scheduled over the next six days. Wichita and Gary SouthShore will play a day/night double header on Tuesday. Both games are scheduled for nine innings.

DOUBLE HEADER/RAINOUT NOTES: Friday's double header vs. St. Paul was the Wingnuts' first of the season and a result of a June 9th rainout at Midway Stadium. Prior to June 9th, Wichita's last rainout came on August 23rd, 2012 at El Paso, which marked their first full postponement of a game (home or away) since August 8th, 2010. Including the postseason, the Wingnuts had gone 212 consecutive games without a cancelation.

GRAND SLAM TIME: On Tuesday, June 11th at Winnipeg, Abel Nieves hit the Wingnuts' first grand slam home run since Juan Richardson hit a bases loaded 'big fly' on August 27th, 2011 in a 19-2 rout at El Paso. Wichita hit .309 as a team with the bases loaded last season, and entered June 11th hitting .400 in 2013, but had gone 126 consecutive games without a grand slam.

STRONGEST LINK: With 8.0 shutout innings on Tuesday, June 11th at Winnipeg, Jon Link has now thrown 18.1 consecutive scoreless frames dating back to his start on June 1st at Sioux Falls. Link also lowered his ERA to a league-best 1.69, and currently tops the American Association with five wins. The Wingnuts' record for most consecutive scoreless innings by a starting pitcher is 26.2, accomplished by Nick Singleton in 2011.

'AMBO' ROLLING: Wingnuts' rookie right fielder David Amberson has hit safely in 14 games in a row (20 for 47, .426). Amberson is also 24 for 56 (.429) over his last 17 games with 12 runs scored and 11 RBI. Amberson slugged the first home run of his professional career on June 10th at Winnipeg.

ABEL HEATING UP: Wingnuts' third baseman Abel Nieves is 26 for 72 (.361) in his last 21 games with 17 runs scored and 16 walks. Nieves hit .320 for the Joliet Slammers last year, which ranked second in the Frontier League. On May 27th vs. Amarillo, Nieves picked up the 500th hit of his professional career.

PITCHING STRONG: The Wingnuts rank first in the American Association with a 3.16 team ERA. The Wingnuts ranked first in ERA in 2009 and 2010 while finishing third in 2011.

SWINGING STRONG: The Wingnuts rank second in the American Association with a .291 team batting average. Over the last two seasons, the Wingnuts have finished first and second respectively in the league batting race.

GLOVE WORK: The Wingnuts rank second in the American Association with a .979 fielding percentage. Wichita has led the league in defense in three of their first five years of existence (2008, 2009, 2012), and finished second in 2011. The Wingnuts hold the American Association record for team fielding percentage at .980, which they accomplished in both 2009 and 2012.

HINSON CLIMBING THE RANKS: Ryan Hinson won his 24th game in a Wingnuts' uniform on June 14th vs. St. Paul in the opener of a double header. Hinson ranks second all-time in team history in victories, and trails Derek Blacksher (2009, 2011-12) for first place (26 wins). Hinson's 214 strikeouts rank second all-time, and are four shy of tying Blacksher for first place.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Wingnuts are 161-97 (.624) all-time at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. It is the highest home winning percentage for any American Association team since the Wingnuts began play in 2008.

FRONT LINERS PROTECTING THE HOME FRONT: Third-year Wingnuts' starter Ryan Hinson has excelled when pitching at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Including the postseason, Hinson is 15-6 with a 3.32 ERA (61 ER, 165.1 IP) over 25 starts and two relief appearances. Junior Guerra-who is in his second overall season with the Wingnuts-is 8-2 with a 2.78 ERA (30 ER, 97.0 IP) all-time at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in 14 starts.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN: Wingnuts' fifth-year manager Kevin Hooper is 239-180 (.570) since taking over in 2009. Hooper has guided the Wingnuts to four consecutive winning seasons, as well as three playoff berths. Hooper's .570 winning percentage is the highest among American Association managers over the last five years. His 239 wins also rank first during that same stretch. During his 10-year playing career, Hooper was a member of a team that made the playoffs in eight different seasons. Hooper was also a member of Wichita State University's College World Series team in 1996. The Shockers reached the NCAA tournament in all four of Hooper's collegiate seasons, and posted a composite .815 winning percentage.

ALUMNI REPORT: RHP Matt Nevarez (2011-12) has a 2.31 ERA for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay) with 13 strikeouts in 11.2 IP. RHP James Hoyt (2012) has a 4.75 ERA for the High-A Carolina League's Lynchburg Hillcats (Atlanta) with 69 strikeouts and just 35 hits allowed in 47.1 IP. RHP Andrew Aizenstadt (2012) is currently in extended spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies' organization. LHP and Wingnuts' co-owner Nate Robertson (2012) has a 2.70 ERA in 26.2 IP for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League's Round Rock Express (Texas). Outfielder Brent Clevlen (2011) hit .223 with four home runs and 17 RBI in 38 games for the Double-A Mobile Bay Bears (Arizona) before a mid-season promotion to Triple-A Reno.



American Association Stories from June 15, 2013


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