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Wichita Wingnuts Game Notes - June 17th, 2013

June 17, 2013 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release


RELENTLESS WINGNUTS TAKE SERIES: The Wichita Wingnuts beat the St. Paul Saints18-6 on Sunday to win three of four in their series. Wichita cranked out a season-high 22 base hits, with all nine starters collecting at least one hit for a second straight game. St. Paul took three separate leads over the first three innings, but Wichita went in front for good with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on back-to-back two-out hits from John Rodriguez and CJ Ziegler. Wichita scored two more in the fifth and broke the game open with a six-run seventh. Abel Nieves and David Amberson had four-hit games, while Ziegler finished with four RBI. Ryan Khoury scored four runs. Amberson extended his hitting streak to 16 games. Junior Guerra earned the win, allowing six earned runs in 6.0 IP. Nick Walters, Daniel Bennett, and Josh Stone each threw a hitless inning of shutout relief.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE RAILCATS: The Wingnuts are 11-7 all-time against the Gary SouthShore RailCats, including a 5-1 mark at Lawrence- Dumont Stadium. Gary SouthShore joined the American Association in 2011 after spending the previous nine seasons in the Northern League. RailCats' manager Greg Tagert is in his ninth season. Tagert guided the RailCats to the playoffs in each of his first six years, and won Northern League Championships in 2005 and 2007. Tagert was named Northern League Manager of the Year in 2007 and 209. Tagert entered 2013 with an 844-685 (.552) career managerial record, which includes nine years of service in the Frontier League. Tagert has never had a losing season in any of his 17 years as a professional manager and is the Frontier League's all-time wins leader as a skipper. The Wingnuts and RailCats battled neck and neck for the 2011 Central Division title with the Wingnuts clinching the division by one game on the final day of the regular season. Wichita swept a key, three- game series from the RailCats at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in late-August of that year that vaulted them into first place for the remainder of the season. US Steel Yard opened in 2003 after the RailCats were forced to play their inaugural season exclusively on the road. Mike Massaro, the American Association's all-time leader in triples, returns for a fifth season with the RailCats.

SERIES MATCHUP: The Wingnuts are 19-10 and lead the Lincoln Saltdogs by 2.5 games in the Central Division. The Wingnuts won three of four this weekend from the St. Paul Saints. The RailCats are 14-13 and trail in the Wingnuts by 4.0 games in the Central Division. The RailCats just won two of three at Fargo-Moorhead. The Wingnuts are first in the league in hitting (.304), first in pitching (3.29), and second in fielding (.980). The RailCats are tied for 10th in batting (.264), sixth in pitching (4.27), and 10th in defense (.968). Gary SouthShore took two of three from Wichita at US Steel Yard in late- May.

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: The Wingnuts open their series against the RailCats with Jon Link who is 5-1 with a 1.69 ERA in six starts. Link ranks first in the American Association in both wins and ERA. Link threw 8.0 shutout innings in a win at Winnipeg last Tuesday and has thrown 18.1 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to his start on June 1st at Sioux Falls. Link is 3-0 with a 0.83 ERA at home this season in three starts. Link has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of six starts, and has allowed four or fewer earned runs in all of them. Link has walked two or fewer batters in five of six starts. Link has pitched into the seventh inning in five of six starts and has pitched at least 6.0 full innings in all of them. Link took a loss at Gary SouthShore on May 21st, allowing two earned runs in 6.0 innings.

Link split time with the Miami Marlins' and Baltimore Orioles' organizations last year, going 3-2 with 11 saves and a 2.78 ERA in 32 relief appearances at the Double- and Triple-A levels. Link struck out 28 and walked 13 in 35.2 innings. Link appeared in nine games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010, totaling 8.2 IP. Link was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 26th round in 2005 out of Bluefield College. Link was the first Bluefield alumnus to reach the Major Leagues. Link entered 2013 with a 25-21 record with 93 saves and a 3.82 ERA in his career, and has reached double digits in saves in five different professional seasons. Prior to this season, Link had made nine career starts, the last of which came on April 13th, 2011 as a member of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (Los Angeles Dodgers).

The RailCats go with right-hander Will Krout who is 1-3 with a 5.87 ERA in six starts. Krout took a loss vs. the Can-Am League's Quebec Capitales last Tuesday, allowing three earned runs on 10 hits in 7.0 IP. Krout is 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA on the road this season in two starts. Krout has allowed five or fewer earned runs in six of six starts. Krout has pitched at least 6.0 innings in four of six starts, and has pitched at least 5.0 innings in all of them. Krout is 0-0 with one save and a 3.29 ERA (5 ER, 13.2 IP) all-time against the Wingnuts in one start and six relief appearances. The start came on August 24th, 2012 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in which Krout allowed three earned runs in 6.0 innings in a no-decision. Wichita won the game 6-4.

Krout is in his third season with the RailCats and his seventh overall in professional baseball. Krout is 24-17 in his career with nine saves and a 3.43 ERA in 172 games, 23 of them starts. Krout won a championship with the Frontier League's River City Rascals in 2010 where he was a teammate of former Wingnuts' right-hander Josh Lowey. Krout ranked 11th in the American Association in ERA in 2012 at 3.58 and made a career-high 16 starts.

AMBERSON NAMED BATTER OF THE WEEK: Wingnuts' right fielder David Amberson has been named the American Association's Batter of the Week for June 10th -16th . Amberson was 14 for 24 (.583) in seven games, scoring seven runs and collecting seven RBI. Amberson is the second Wingnut to receive the honor this season. Jared McDonald was named Batter of the Week for May 27th -June 2nd .

MAJOR LEAGUE BAT RETURNS TO WINGNUTS: The Wichita Wingnuts signed outfielder Brent Clevlen on Monday afternoon. Clevlen appeared in 54 games this season for the Arizona Diamondbacks' Triple-A (Reno) and Double-A (Mobile) affiliates, hitting .217 with six home runs and 21 RBI. Clevlen hit .260 for Mobile last year with 10 home runs and 39 RBI before earning a late-season promotion to Reno. Clevlen hit .377 for the Aces in 31 games and helped them win both the Pacific Coast League championship and the Triple-A level championship. Clevlen hit .310 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI in 46 games for the Wingnuts in 2011 before having his contract purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies' organization. Clevlen spent parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues with the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves. Clevlen played with Wingnuts' manager Kevin Hooper and co-owner Nate Robertson for the Tigers in 2006. Wichita placed right-handed pitcher Lincoln Holdzkom and outfielder Mike Mobbs on waivers.

WELCOME TO THE PROS: True rookie right-hander Josh Stone earned the win in his professional debut on Saturday, June 15th vs. St. Paul with 2.0 shutout relief innings. Stone became the 29th player in team history to make his professional debut with the Wingnuts.

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.

LOTS OF BASEBALL: Beginning with Friday's double header vs. St. Paul, the Wingnuts have eight games scheduled over a six-day span. 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 16 games in a row (26 for 55, .473). Amberson is also 30 for 64 (.469) over his last 19 games with 15 runs scored and 15 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 32 for 83 (.386) in his last 23 games with 19 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 3.29 team ERA. The Wingnuts ranked first in ERA in 2009 and 2010 while finishing third in 2011.

SWINGING STRONG: The Wingnuts rank first in the American Association with a .304 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 .980 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 163-97 (.627) 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 9-2 with a 3.15 ERA (36 ER, 103.0 IP) all-time at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in 15 starts.

ALL HE DOES IS WIN: Wingnuts' fifth-year manager Kevin Hooper is 241-180 (.572) since taking over in 2009. Hooper has guided the Wingnuts to four consecutive winning seasons, as well as three playoff berths. Hooper's .572 winning percentage is the highest among American Association managers over the last five years. His 241 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 4.89 ERA for the High-A Carolina League's Lynchburg Hillcats (Atlanta) with 72 strikeouts and just 39 hits allowed in 49.2 IP. LHP and Wingnuts' co-owner Nate Robertson (2012) has a 2.60 ERA in 27.2 IP for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League's Round Rock Express (Texas).



American Association Stories from June 17, 2013


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