Wingnuts Survive in Ninth for Sixth Straight Win
June 21, 2018 - American Association (AA)
Wichita Wingnuts News Release
WICHITA, Kan. - Daniel Tillman stranded the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position in the top of the ninth inning, preserving a 3-2 win for the Wichita Wingnuts over the Sioux Falls Canaries on Thursday night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. With the victory, the Wingnuts locked down their second consecutive sweep and their sixth consecutive win.
Sioux Falls (11-20) nearly took the lead in the ninth twice, first on a long double from Chris Grayson off the top of the wall in right that put Canaries runners on second and third with one out. After Tillman struck out Jabari Henry for the second out, Maxx Garrett launched a fly ball deep into the left field corner that Tony Thomas ran down on the warning track for the game's final out. The catch nailed down the ninth save of the season for Tillman in nine chances.
For the third straight game in the series, Sioux Falls grabbed a first inning run. David Bergin grounded a two-out RBI single off Casey Harman (4-1) to plate Jordan Smith, moving the Canaries in front 1-0. The Wingnuts (20-12) had a quick answer, scoring a run of their own in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded and one out, Thomas lifted a sacrifice fly to left that scored Zach Nehrir and evened the game at 1-1.
Wichita moved in front in the second, as Logan Watkins reached on a two-out infield single, scoring Logan Trowbridge for a 2-1 lead. The Wingnuts extended the lead in the sixth against Canaries starter Dylan Thompson (3-3), plating a run on John Nester's RBI double. That insurance run proved critical when Sioux Falls got a run of their own in the eighth on a Blake Schmit RBI single to trim the lead to 3-2.
Harman picked up the win with six strong innings, allowing only four hits and one run. He retired 11 consecutive hitters to end his outing.
The Wingnuts now take to the road for a six-game northern swing, beginning with a three-game series against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on Friday. Wichita will start right-hander Charlie Gillies (2-0, 0.69), while the RedHawks have not yet announced their starter. First pitch is scheduled for 7:02 PM, and will be broadcast on 1410 AM/93.9 FM KGSO, TuneIn and americanassociationbaseball.tv.
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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