Wingnuts Clip RedHawks 5-4 to Even Series

Published on June 4, 2015 under American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release


FARGO, ND - The Wichita Wingnuts watched the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks come back from an early deficit to tie the game in the latter innings for a second straight night on Wednesday. However, unlike the night before it was the Wingnuts who used clutch two-out hitting to emerge victorious by a 5-4 score at Newman Outdoor Field.

Wichita (8-3) came out of the gates swinging and it paid off in the first inning. David Espinosa followed a Luis Hernandez double with an RBI single to quickly propel his team to a 1-0 lead. Espinosa found himself right in the middle of the Nuts next scoring effort in the third. Jayce Ray drew a leadoff walk and was immediately bunted into scoring position by Hernandez. The veteran outfielder lined another run-scoring base hit to left and it was 2-0.

Fargo-Moorhead (4-9) scratched across the first run against Anthony Capra in the bottom of the third. Zach Penprase led off with a double which was backed up by a Brent Peterson walk. Chad Mozingo bunted both players into scoring position with one out. Frank Salerno managed to cut the lead in half by bouncing a fielder's choice groundball to short.

With two outs in the fourth inning and the bases empty the Wingnuts found a way to put together a threat against RedHawks' starter Austin Kirk. Dustin Geiger started the attack by doubling into the right center gap off of his former teammate in the Cubs farm system. Geiger stole third and was quickly brought home on another double from Taylor Oldham. The RBI was Oldham's first of the season. Before the inning concluded, Ray plated Oldham with a single of his own to increase the lead to 4-1.

The RedHawks trimmed the lead to one courtesy of a crooked number in the fifth. Penprase once again laced a double and scored on Mozingo's RBI triple. Mozingo crossed the plate with Fargo-Moorhead's third run on an error by Geiger at first on Salerno's bouncer to the right side.

In the home half of the sixth, the RedHawks loaded the bases against Capra with one out. Kevin Hooper turned to Daniel Bennett to get out of the jam. The right-hander hit the first batter he faced to force in the tying run, but followed by getting Penprase to ground into a 5-3 double play. Capra allowed four runs in 5.1 innings with four strikeouts.

The 4-4 tie lasted until the top half of the final inning when the Nuts went in front. Espinosa drew a one out walk and moved to third on T.J. Mittelstaedt's two out line drive base hit to right. Alberto Gonzalez came through with a hard single through the right side to plate Espinosa and give the Wingnuts a 5-4 lead.

Matt Nevarez came on for the bottom of the inning and worked around a pair of walks to keep the RedHawks off the board. He ended the game by striking out Salerno, Tuesday's hero, looking on a nasty breaking ball.

Every member of the Wichita lineup tallied at least one hit as the team totaled 12. Daniel Carela picked up his first win of the season courtesy of his scoreless eighth inning that featured a pair of strikeouts.

The rubber match of the series will be held on Thursday night at 7:02 p.m. RHP Tim Brown (1-0) of the Wingnuts will match up with RHP Jeremy Gooding of Fargo. 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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American Association Stories from June 4, 2015


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