Wingnuts Earn Wild 10-8 Win on Opening Night
May 16, 2014 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, KS - The Wichita Wingnuts (1-0) 2014 season did not necessarily start the way they had hoped, as they found themselves trailing the Grand Prairie AirHogs (0-1) by five runs after an inning and a half of play on Thursday night in the season-opener at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. However, the Wingnuts showed their resilience by slowly chipping away at the deficit until they finally broke through to take a lead that they would never relinquish on their way to a 10-8 victory in front of 2,563 fans.
Things looked great early when Jon Link worked a scoreless top half of the first inning and then the team jumped ahead 1-0 on an RBI single by Chun-Hsiu Chen in the bottom half.
The AirHogs answered in a big way in the second by scoring six runs against Wingnuts' starter Jon Link. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases for Michael Hur, who jumped on a fastball and drove it over the wall in left field for a grand slam and a 4-1 Grand Prairie advantage. Later Mitch Abeita and Brandon Pinckney came around to touch the plate on a two out, two RBI double by former Wingnut Abel Nieves making it 6-1.
Possibly the most exciting play of the night occurred when David Amberson hit a groundball deep in the hole at third with Carlo Testa already on base. Amberson legged out an infield single, but the throw from Frazier Hall got by Andres Rodriguez and into right field allowing Amberson to head towards third. The throw to that base also escaped and Amberson managed to beat the throw from shallow left field with a directional slide into home and cut the deficit to 6-3.
Each squad tacked on a lone run in the fifth inning before the Wingnuts put together a big sixth frame. Ryan Khoury led off with a single which was followed immediately by a Jake Kahaulelio double. Khoury scored on a wild pitch and then Brent Clevlen drove home Kahaulelio with a single. After Clevlen reached third on a stolen base and wild pitch, Chen garnered his second RBI by lifting a sacrifice fly to right field. The Wingnuts finished the inning with an 8-7 lead.
Kahaulelio added another sacrifice fly in the seventh, one of two insurance runs Wichita would add in the inning.
The AirHogs put together a threat in the ninth against closer Matt Nevarez, scoring one run and putting a couple more on base with one out before the right-hander induced Mitch Abeita into game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Jason Van Skike earned the win after working 1.1 innings and allowing nothing on two hits and a pair of strikeouts. Daniel Bennett and Patrick Mincey, a former AirHog, also worked scoreless innings in relief. Khoury went 3-4 with a walk, run scored, and three stolen bases and was a spark plug at the plate and on the field all night. He became the franchise's all-time leader in walks with his 118th career base on balls in the second inning.
The Wingnuts and the AirHogs will clash again on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. with LHP Anthony Capra receiving the nod for the Nuts and RHP Trevor Harden going for Grand Prairie. A limited number of magnet schedules will be given away at the front gate and fireworks will follow the conclusion of the game. 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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